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PREPARED BY THE 



YOUNG MEN'S CIRISTIAN ASSOCIATION, 



•'And there was great joy in that city." — Acts 'viii. 8. 
"Tell them to stand np for Jesns." — Dying words of Rev. Dudley A. Tyng. (jl 

1: 




PHILADELPHIA: 

PARRY & M^^M I L L AN. 

1859. 






r 





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THE 

yfirafi MES'S (HRlSflAS AWIATIOI, 

OF PHILADELPHIA, 

Was established in the year 1854, with the view of uniting 
and directing the efforts of Christian young men, as an auxi- 
liary to the church of Christ. 

Its Fundamental Rules are: 

I. That the object of the Association be the improvement 
of the spiritual, mental, and social condition of young men. 

II. That the means employed for the attainment of this 
object be Devotional Meetings, Lectures, Lyceum, a Library 
for reference and circulation, Reading-Rooms, Committees to 
seek out young men taking up their residences in Phila- 
delphia and procure for them suitable boarding-houses and 
employment, and, by introducing them to members of the 
Association, throw around them Christian influences, and se- 
cure their attendance at places of worship on the Sabbath. 

The Rooms of the Association are in the second story of 
1009 and 1011 Chestnut Street, and are open daily (Sabbaths 
excepted) from 8 a. m. to 10 p. m. They are handsomely 
fitted up, and regularly supplied with one hundred of the 
most important Newspapers, Magazines, and Reviews (both 
religious and secular) published in this country and Europe. 

All young men (especially strangers) are cordially invited 
to visit the Rooms. 

An Annual Report, with a list of Devotional Meetings, 
(about thirty in number,) and particulars of the operations of 
the Association, may be had on application to the Correspond- 
ing Secretary. 

Donations of funds for the Association, or books for the 
Library, will be received with much gratitude, by the Presi- 
dent, George H. Stuart, 13 Bank St., or by the Correspond- 
ing Secretary, John Waxamaker, 1009 and 1011 Chestnut St. 



J 



n 



/ 

PENTECOST ; 



OR, 



%\t Wiorl of ©oir m lipaklp^ia:, 



A. D. 1858. 

^ PREPARED BY THE 

YOUNG MEN^S CHRISTIAN ASSOCIATION 



^V OF CO/v 



G^^ 



i 1876. ;) 



"And there was great joy ffl*t!5fl*-eity."--AcTS viii. 8. 
"Toll them to stand up for Jesus." — Dying words of Rev. Dudley A. Tyno, 



PHILADELPHIA : 

PARRY & M^M I L L A N, 

1859. 






Entered according to Act of Congress, in tlie year 1859, by 

JOHN WANAMAKER, Cor. Sec, 

in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. 



HENEY B. ASHMEAD, BOOK AND JOB PRINTER, 
Sansom Street above Eleventli. 



PREFACE 



" The works of the Lord are great, souglit out of all them that 
have pleasure therein/' (Ps. cxi. 2.) We are commanded to 
"consider'^ them, to "talk'' of them, to "declare" them to 
others as well as to " rejoice " in them ourselves. When Paul 
and Barnabas returned to Antioch, we are told that " they 
gathered the Church together, and rehearsed all that God had 
done with them, and how he had opened the door of faith unto 
the Gentiles." The words of the " beloved Physician" are very 
suggestive. When doors are opened that before were closed, it 
is surely a matter of great rejoicing. 

The object of these pages is two fold, viz. to recognize the 
present work of God in our city, and to extend the knowledge 
of it here and elsewhere. 

The Committee of Fifteen, (one from each Evangelical denomi- 
nation represented in the Young Men's Christian Association,) 
have felt alike the difi&culty, the delicacy and the responsibility 
of their trust. To enter on their work with " a single eye," to 
collect authentic facts, to let these facts speak for themselves 
alike to the intelligent Christian and the candid man of the 
world, this, and this only, has been their aim. If they have 
failed, they have at least " done what they could." If their 
labors have been crowned with success, to God alone be all 
the glory I 

At a meeting of the Young Men's Christian Association, 
December 27, 1858, it was further ordered, that the pref\ice should 
contain the resolutions passed and the names of the Committee 
appointed September 6, 1858, viz : 



IV PREFACE. 

" Whereas, very great interest is manifested all through the 
State for definite and authentic information as to the present 
work of God in Philadelphia, and 

*' Whereas, this Association, possessing as it does, such peculiar 
facilities for collecting and verifying the various incidents and 
statistics, is naturally looked to as the source from which it might 
most appropriately emanate ; therefore 

*' Resolved, That in the absence of anything else of this kind, 
it is exceedingly desirable that a tract of four and twenty'' (after- 
wards enlarged to fifty) " pages should be issued at as early a 
period as possible, containing such an account of this work of the 
Holy Spirit as may be best calculated to promote its extension 
here and elsewhere.^' 

COMMITTEE. 

Eev. Georqe D uffield, Jr Presbyterian ( N. S. ) 

James S. Martin Reformed Presbyterian. 

George S. Pox Protestant Episcopal. 

John C Bliss Independent. 

John Wiest German Reformed. 

William Getty Associate Presbyterian. 

George 0. Evans Baptist. 

T. Esmonds Harper Presbyterian (0. S.) 

John M. Button Metliodist Episcopal. 

John F. Graff Reformed Dutch. 

Ellwood B. Davis Society of Friends. 

William Rowzee Disciples of Christ. 

F. B. Atmore Methodist Protestant. 

Henry B. Ashmead Lutheran. 

D. M. Warner Moravian. 

Signed by order of the Association, 

GEOEGE H. STUART, President 
John "Wanamaker, Cor, Secretary, 

Philadelphia, Dec. 28th, 1858. 



THE 



¥ORK OF GOD m PHILADELPHIA. 



" It will generally he founds that when Grod is about 
to bestow any remarkable favor on a person or people. 
He previously pours out upon them a spirit of earnest 
supplication for it.'' So said a pastor in Philadel- 
phia, nearly an hundred years ago. The princi- 
ple is undoubtedly a correct one. God leads his 

PEOPLE TO PRAY FOR THAT WHICH HE DESIGNS TO 

g4ve. Thus it was previous to the great day of Pen- 
tecost, when the disciples ^'continued with one ac- 
cord in prayer and ' supplication, with the women 
and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his bre- 
thren." Thus it was at the commencement of the 
Reformation, in the sixteenth century, and of the 
'^ Great Awakening," in the last. So is it still, when 
a risen Saviour is once more standing in the midst 
of his disciples, breathing upon them, and saying, 
^'Receive ye the Holy Ghost." (John xx. 22.) 

This mighty work began in Prayer, " under the 
fig-tree," (John i. 48 ;) and prayer is the key by means 
of which to unlock its entire history. The same 
voice of the Lord that had spoken to his people in 

1* 



6 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

his Providence, had alread}^ been speaking in them 
by the "still small voice" of the Holy Spirit. It is 
in evidence, the most authentic and definite, before 
those entrusted with the compilation of these pages, 
that as early as January, 1856, there were not a few 
who were led to pray, " Oh ! Lord, revive thy work," 
and to engage in united prayer for this purpose. 
"Scores of richly laden vessels," said they, "are 
now lying in the river a few miles below our city, 
anxiously waiting to reach our wharves. Why this 
delay? Because the channel is closed hy the ice. Thus it 
is with the exceeding great and precious promises of 
God. Not only is He willing, but he is waiting to be- 
stow them upon us. WTiy does He not bestow them ? 
Alas ! prayer is indeed the appointed channel through 
which the blessing flows ; but the channel is not open 
hy which for Grod to communicate^ or for us to receive 
it. It is because we restrain prayer, that the things 
that remain are readv to die." 

The spirit of prayer thus so graciously revived in 
the hearts of some of God's people for themselves, 
in the month of October, A. D. 1857, took a more 
extended range ; " Open thy mouth wide, and I will 
fill it," (Ps. Ixxxi. 10,) was the message that came to 
many a closet. "Pray for this city, this great and 
wdcked city," was the suggestion constantly pressing 
upon those who loved to pray; they must jpra?/ /or 
it specifically^ if they prayed at all. 

Soon the stream of prayer, overflowing the hearts 
of individual suppliants in the closet, found its way 
into the various churches. Christians began to love 
the place where prayer was wont to be made, and to 



% 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 7 

assemble there in nnusual numbers. This increase 
of interest in the church prayer-meeting naturally 
suggested union prayer-meetings for the entire de- 
nomination; each church, in regular succession, 
being visited by those who loved to pray from the 
others, and all the churches for the time being mak- 
ing but one church for this purpose. These '' union" 
meetings were held at different seasons ; some early 
in the winter, some later, and some in the following 
spring; and at different times, some in the after- 
noon, others in the evening; some once a week, 
others more frequently. The testimony from all the 
different denominations as to the delightful influ- 
ence of thus coming together as "with one accord'' 
for prayer and supplication, was one and the same. 
Once more the dew was on the fleece, the " little 
cloud'' above the horizon, and it was manifest to 
the feeblest faith that again the Lord had " spoken 
good concerning Israel." 

But a higher and still more perfect and glorious 
development of the spirit of prayer was yet in re- 
serve. Simultaneously with the outpouring of the 
" spirit of grace and supplication" on the different 
churches, by the great Head of the church, it also 
pleased him to pour out upon them in a most re- 
markable degree, like the precious ointment on the 
head of Aaron, the spirit of Christian Union. The 
impassioned appeals of Eev. Dr. Duff; an anniver- 
sary at the Musical Fund Hall, where addresses were 
made on this subject by various ministers, and one 
in particular by the Rev. Dudley A. Tyng; the 

union" prayer-meetings on Thanksgiving day; the 



4( 



8 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

invitations freely extended to ministers of different 
ecclesiastical bodies, to occupy the pulpits of other 
denominations; and occasionally a series of Sab- 
bath evening discourses, delivered in the same 
church by representatives of all the different deno- 
minations in the city ; these and many similar cir- 
cumstances announced as plainly v^hat vras coming, 
as ever the bright purple clouds in the east an- 
nounced the rising of the sun ! Almost as by a 
simultaneous consent, it became evident to all that 
it was not the things in which the followers of Jesus 
differed that made them Christians, but those in 
which they were agreed ; that they were not distant 
connections, but blood relations through him who 
shed his blood in common for them all ; that what- 
ever might ,-be their particular state, they were all 
of the same nation ; whatever their particular tribe, 
they all belonged to Grod's one Israel. " That they 
all may be one, as Thou, Father, art in me, and I in 
Thee, that they also may be one in us; that the world 
may believe that thou hast sent me,'' this was the spirit 
of their daily and most importunate supplication ; 
and even while they were yet speaking, graciously 
was it heard and answered. The '' golden age" in 
the civil history of our Commonwealth was again 
renewed in her spiritual history, and on every hand 
was heard the exclamation, '^ Behold how these 
brethren love one another!" 

The Spirit of God having thus so wonderfully 
prepared the hearts of his people for this work, it 
remained for the providence of God to supply some 
appropriate instrumentality. Accordingly, on the 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. \) 

23rd of September, 1857, in the Fulton St. Prayer- 
meeting, New York, he gathered together, almost 
unknown to those who first composed the meeting, 
the simple elements of moral power which in their 
combination were to be so wonderfully effective. 
Business Men, men of every denomination, at the 
hour of noon, were to meet daily for the great pur- 
pose of INTERCESSORY PRAYER; to thcsc meetings 
those "out of Christ" were to be invited; exhorta- 
tions given to them, prayers offered specifically for 
them if they so desired it themselves, or if it was 
desired by their friends ; with what result, is now 
known to the world ! 

Among those who attended the first "Business 
Men's Prayer Meeting" in New York, was a young 
man not yet twenty-one years of age. As good had 
resulted from these meetings in one city, why might 
not equal good be done by them in another? Surely 
it was worth the effort. Some of his fellow-mem- 
bers of the Young Men's Christian Association, with 
whom he conversed, being of the same opinion, and 
promising their co-operation in the matter, he ap- 
plied to the Trustees of the Methodist Episcopal 
Union Church, Fourth street below Arch, for the 
use of their lecture room. The request was prompt- 
ly complied with, and the first noon prayer-meeting 
in the city of Philadelphia was held in the Union 
Church, Nov. 23, A.D. 1857. Was it a mere co- 
incidence that this precious germ was planted on the 
spot consecrated by the prayers and labors of the 
immortal Whitefield ? 

For a time, however, the response on the part of 



10 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

the business men was far from encouraging ; thirty- 
six being the highest number present, and the ave- 
rage attendance not exceeding twelve. At length it 
was deemed expedient to remove the meeting to a 
more central position ; and the ante-room of the 
spacious Hall of Dr. Jayne having been generously 
granted by him for this purpose, the first meeting 
was held there Feb. 3d, 1858. Even then the in- 
crease in numbers was very gradual indeed; first 
twenty, then thirty, forty, fifty, sixty persons ; so 
little did ^'the kingdom of God," in the first in- 
stance, ''come with observation." 

But now almost as in an instant, the whole aspect 
of affairs underwent a most surprising change. "By 
Monday, March 8th," says one, "the attendance in 
the smaller apartment of the Hall had reached 
three hundred, and by the next day, it was evident 
that many were going away for want of room. 
The brethren present, with much fear for the result, 
yet apparently led by Providence, on Tuesday, 
March 9th, voted to hold the meeting the next day 
at twelve o'clock, in the large Hall. It was our 
privilege to be present at that time, Wednesday, 
noon. The centre of the Hall has seats for twenty- 
five hundred people, and it was filled. The entire 
hall seats more than four thousand. The next day 
it was filled again, with the galleries, and still it 
was obvious there was not room for the people. 
The curtain was therefore drawn away from before 
the stage, and the large platform thrown open to the 
audience. The next day, Friday, the partition be- 
tween the smaller and larger rooms was taken down, 
and the Hall from street to street thrown open. 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 11 

" The sight is now grand and solemn. The Hall 
is immensely high. In the rear, several tiers of 
elegantly ornamented boxes, extended from the ceil- 
ing in a semi-circular form around the stage or plat- 
form, and on the stage, and filling the seats, aisles, 
and galleries, three thousand souls at once, on one 
week-day after another, at its busiest hour, bow 
before God in prayer for the revival of his work. 
Ministers and people, men and women, of all de- 
nominations or of none, all gather, and all are 
welcome. 

"There is no noise, no confusion. A layman 
conducts the meeting. Any suitable person may 
pray or speak to the audience for three minutes only. 
If he do not bring his prayer or remarks to a close 
in that time, a bell is touched and he gives way. 
One or two verses of the most spiritual hymns go 
up like the ^ sound of many waters;' requests for 
prayer for individuals are then read ; one layman or 
minister succeeds another, in perfect order and 
quiet, and after a space which seems a few minutes, 
so strange, so absorbing, so interesting is the scene, 
the leader announces that it is one o'clock, and 
punctual to the moment, a minister pronounces the 
benediction, and the immense audience, slowly, 
quietly, and in perfect order, pass from the Hall; 
some ministers remaining to converse in a small 
room off the platform, with any who may desire 
spiritual instruction. 

"No man there, no man perhaps, living or dead, 
has ever seen anything like it. On the day of Pen- 
tecost, Peter preached: Luther preached, and Liv- 



12 THE WORK OF GOB IN PHILADELPHIA. 

ingston, and "Wliitefield and "Wesley ! Great spiritual 
movements have been usually identified with some 
eloquent voice; but no name, except the name 
that is above every name, is identified with this 
meeting." 

''Yes," said a clergyman on the following Sab- 
bath, "think of the prayer meetings this last week 
in Jayne's Hall, literally and truly unprecedented 
and unparalleled in the history of any city or any 
age; wave after wave pouring in from the closet, 
from the family, from the church, from the ^ Union 
prayer meetings,' until the great tidal or tenth wave 
rolled its mighty surge upon us, swallowing up for 
the time-being all separate sects, creeds, denomina- 
tions, in the one, great, glorious and only church of 
the Holy Ghost ! God is with us of a truth !" 

But even these descriptions fall short of the real 
extent of religious feeling in the city at large. 
Jayne's Hall, immense as it was, was not the only 
place where Christians of every name met for the 
purpose of united prayer. Towards the close of 
that same Pentecostal week, a union prayer meeting 
was called in a church conveniently situated in the 
northern part of the city. At the hour appointed, 
some twenty persons might have been seen slowly 
making their way through the unbroken snow- 
drifts, to keep their faith with God and with each 
other. But from the very moment that they crossed 
the threshold, it was manifest that God was with 
them of a truth, and that the blessing was "coming" 
to them also. On Friday afternoon it came in all its 
fullness. The large lecture room, capable of hold- 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 13 

ing some five hiindrecl persons, was crowded to 
overflowing. The number of requests on tlie table 
for prayer was so great, that the leader only looked 
at them with wonder, and did not pretend to read 
them. "Doubtless," said he, "we all feel just in 
the same way for our unconverted friends and rela- 
tives. For my own part, I must ask you to pray for 
my children." "For my two sons and a daughter," 
said a second. "For my father," said a third. "For 
my husband," said a lady, with a tenderness and 
energy that thrilled through every soul; and thus 
in less than three minutes, a hundred similar re- 
quests were presented throughout the whole room. 
Then, as with one accord, the entire congregation 
lifted up their voices and wept together. The place 
was indeed a Bochim, and of all the scenes that 
have been witnessed during the revival, perhaps 
there was none more perfectly characteristic and 
overwhelming. A few days after, at this same 
meeting, the people of God, as by a common im- 
pulse, rose to their feet, and there standing before 
the Lord, solemnly consecrated themselves afresh to 
his service. The history in detail of that single 
meeting, would constitute a volume of itself. Out 
of many incidents, we select but one. 

At the close of a meeting, a lady approached a 
little group of ministers and others, and called one 
of them aside to speak withhim. "I could not' find 
it in my heart," said she, "to leave this room, until 
I told what God had done for my soul. I came 
here this afternoon in darkness, heavily burdened 
with my sin, and well nigh in despair; but during 
2 



li THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

the third prayer, I felt as if I could believe on 
Christ; peace came to my soul, and 7ioiv I must go 
home a7id tell mother!'' The tone of voice, the ex- 
pression of countenance, the tears rolling down her 
cheeks, and joy meanwhile beaming from her eyes, 
it is utterly impossible for us to describe. Conver- 
sion was to her a change as real, as for one asleep 
to awake, for a captive in darkness and in a dun- 
geon, to come out into light and liberty; for one 
who before was blind, to be made to see; for one 
who was dead, to be made alive. 

The lecture room having become too strait for the 
multitude of worshippers, similar union prayer meet- 
ings were established further west and north, in the 
afternoon: and also in the Handel and Haydn Hall 
at noon, the attendance at the latter place amounting 
at times to a thousand or twelve hundred persons. 
Taking all the Union prayer meetings together, in- 
dependent of the regular Church meetings in the 
evenino;, the number of those who dailv met for 
prayer about this time, was at least five thousand. 

In connection with the Union prayer meetings, as 
if by common consent, ''union preaching" was also 
established. That all might feel equally free to 
attend, the favorite place for such preaching, was 
the great public halls, such as Jayne's, Handel and 
Haydn, and the American Mechanics', and what is 
very significant, all of them were freely tendered by 
the proprietors for the use of the people, without 
expense. The time appointed for these services, 
was usually on the afternoon of a week-day, or at 
such an hour on the Sabbath, as would not interfere 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 15 

with public worship in the churches. Two sermons 
in this course, by the Eev. Dudley A. Tyng, one on 
the words, ^^Come, for all things are now ready," 
and the other on, ''Ye that are men, serve the 
Lord," will never be forgotten; especially the latter, 
when the congregation at Jayne's Hall, numbered 
at least five thousand. The way of God in the Sanc- 
tuary was wonderful indeed. The Gospel came not 
in word only, but in power. 

At these meetings, also, multitudes of tracts and 
books, some of them original, and some whose value 
had been tested by their circulation for more than 
half a century, were freely distributed at the doors 
to those who were retiring from the meetings. It 
seemed as if every Christian brother or sister, who 
had been benefited by any particular tract, could 
not rest until they had provided a copy for others. 
The favorite tract was the one entitled ''Come to 
Jesus." Come, was the great watch word of the 
day. And if there was one text heard more fre- 
quently than another, and one in the spirit of which 
Christians were most earnestly endeavoring to act, 
it was Rev. xxii. 17, "The Spirit and the bride say, 
Come. And let him that heareth say. Come. And 
let him that is athirst, Come. And whosoever will, 
let him take the water of life. Freely!" 

Meanwhiley. the increase of attendance on public 
worship on the Sabbath, and the number of churches 
opened for services during the week, was beyond all 
precedent. During the latter part of the winter, rarely 
indeed would you pass in the evening, the lecture- 
room of an evangelical church that was not lighted 



16 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

up for prayer or preacliing. Sometimes even the 
main body of the church itself was not able to ac- 
commodate the multitude of worshippers. In some, 
these services had commenced months or weeks be- 
fore, and were only continued ; in others, they were 
now held for the first time ; in all, there were the 
manifest indications of the presence and power of 
the Holy Spirit. The action of the Union meetings 
upon the churches, and of the churches upon the 
Union meetings, was reciprocally delightful and 
profitable. 'No rivalry — no collision. The revival 
spirit was alike one and the same every where ; the 
same ^' spiritual songs;" the same fervent interces- 
sion for sinners ; the same earnest invitation to come 
to Jesus and receive his rest ; rest for the mind in 
his truth ; for the heart in his love. 

As with individuals, there were diversities of ope- 
ration by the same spirit, many gladly receiving the 
word, and receiving it at once, others lingering in 
the usual way, so was it with the Churches. At 
one time the '' promise of the Father" came as the 
dew; at another as the copious shower; at still 
another, as 'Hhe rushing of a mighty wind," all 
powerful and unexpected. ^'On Sabbath, the 7th 
of March," says one of our Pastors, "I entered my 
pulpit, weak from recent illness, and wondering 
whether the thickly springing ' thorns ' would con- 
tinue to 'choke the word,' as usual. The day was 
damp and cold without; the temperature almost 
equally chilly and uncomfortable ivithin; I did not 
know that there was one awakened soul in the en- 
tire congregation. Yet before the day was over 



m THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 17 

there were thirty cases of awakening brought to 
light, and six of hopeful conversion. In the after- 
noon, especially, at a joint meeting of parents and 
Sabbath^school teachers to pray for the children, the 
Holy Spirit was poured out in such a surprising 
manner, and to such a wonderful extent as I had 
never seen it before. The spirit of prayer, which a 
few days before had begun to manifest itself in two 
or three of the very youngest members of the church, 
now became almost universal. If we saw not the 
^tongue of fire,' at least we heard it. For a series of 
weeks, meetings were held every evening, sustaining 
themselves simply by voluntary exhortations and 
prayers, without the necessity of a single sermon, 
except upon the Sabbath. Cases of conviction, 
and many of conversion, during prayer, left no 
doubt of its efficacy. The rapidity of conversion 
was beyond all parallel, and for the young converts 
to begin at once to pray and labor for the salvation 
of others, was recognized by them simply as a mat- 
ter of course." Eight months later testimony from 
this same witness is equally favorable as to their con- 
tinued zeal and spirituality, thus giving, by their 
"fruits," evidence the most conclusive and satisfac- 
tory that they were "born of God." 

While such wonders as these were transpiring all 
through the city, public attention and interest were 
awakened in them in no ordinary degree. In vain 
was an occasional cry raised here and there of 
"priestcraft," "enthusiasm," "fanaticism." No de- 
finition of these terms seemed at all applicable to 
the case in hand. In vain did the boldest of the 

2'^ 



18 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. m 

transgressors endeavor to rally an organized opposi- 
tion; the disposition ''to cease from the instruction 
that canseth to err," left the synagogues of Satan 
deserted and desolate. In vain was every subtle ex- 
pedient resorted to, to involve the followers of Christ 
in angry and unprofitable controversy. ''Speaking 
the truth in love," and believing that the best way 
to refute error was by teaching the truth as it was in 
Jesus, they humbly relied on the Holy Spirit to make 
the truth manifest in every man's conscience. The 
worse the man, the more did Christians pity him ; 
the greater the enemy, the more did they pray for 
him. On one occasion, at the noon prayer meeting, 
Nina Sahib himself was proposed as a subject of 
prayer, and by whom, of all other persons in the 
world, but by a Christian mother whose own son 
was one of the missionaries so foully murdered by 
him on the Ganges ! 

As to the impression made upon the minds of 
Christians generally by this new and wonderful 
state of things, perhaps as fair an illustration as anj^, 
may be found in the remarks of a good old colored 
sister one morning when returning from a sunrise 
prayer meeting in the " Canvas Church" : — 

"The day this great revival first broke out," said 
she, "that is, when I first heard of it — that very 
morning I was reading my New Testament, in the 
seventh chapter of Revelation. A revival among 
the Methodists! and the Baptists! and the Episco- 
palians ! and the Presbyterians ! and all the churches ! 
Bless the Lord, the chapter has come ! Sure enough, 
the four angels are standing on the four corners of 



^ THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 19 

the earth, and holding back the four winds, and the 
great angel having the seal of the living God has 
gone out a-sealing his servants in their foreheads; 
twelve thousand in this tribe ! and twelve thousand 
in that! JVo partiality with Him! And soon the 
hundred and forty and four thousand, of all kindred 
and people and tongues shall stand before the throne, 
and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes and 
palms in their hands, and sing salvation to our God! 
Bless the Lord, I hope poor old Mary will be among 
them too." 

Truly may it be said of the work that it has been 
'' without partiality," and that God has been no re- 
specter of persons. Like the rain and the sunshine, 
it has fallen on all the difierent fields of his heritage 
with no invidious distinction or discrimination. 
^'Parthians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the dwel- 
lers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and Cappadocia, 
in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and Pamphylia, and 
in the parts of Libya about Cyrene, and strangers of 
Eome, Jews and proselytes, Cretes and Arabians," 
no matter what the ecclesiastical name of those who 
^'hold the Head," (Col. ii. 19,) and believe that 
'^ Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God !" ^ Sons and 
daughters,' 'young men' and ' old men,' 'servants' 
and ' hand maidens', no matter what their relative 
position in the church or in the community ! Greek 
or Jew, ' circumcision oi: uncircumcision,' Barbarian, 
Scythian, bond or frep,[no matter what their social 
position, — all withoutr exception have been made>to 
acknowledge the reality of this gracious influence of 
the Holy Spirit ; all of them according to the number 



20 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

of their laborers have gathered into their several 
barns, their due proportion of the abounding harvest. 
Like the manna that lay all round about the camp, 
of which the children of Israel, all who were hungry 
did gather, ''some more, some less;" like the Rock 
smitten atHoreb, just as much for the benefit of one 
tribe as another, to whose flowing waters came all 
who were thirsty — so has it recently been with this 
new and most grateful supply of the bread and 
water of life eternal. Literally, and without a figure, 
the promise of the Father has once more been ful- 
filled in the midst of us, and through his only begot- 
ten Son in whom all fullness dwells, He has poured 
out of his Spirit on all flesh ! He has blessed the 
House of Israel ! He has blessed the house of Aaron ! 
Blessed be his name ! Of the ten thousand whom we 
hope have been converted within the borders of 
our city during this Year of Jubilee, it would be 
utterly impossible to make a more equitable and 
satisfactory division among the various denomina- 
tions than God by his providence and Spirit has 
made already/! One denomination received 3010; 
a second, 1800; a third, 1735; a fourth, 1150; a fifth 
500 ; a sixth, 363 ; a seventh, 200 ; an eighth, 90 ; a 
ninth, 28, &c. He hath beautified the gates of Zion, 
alike on the East, on the North, on the South and 
on the West, and the names of the twelve tribes of 
Israel are alike legible on them all. He who will 
measure with the ^^ golden reed" of christian charity 
and truth, will find that '^the city lieth four square 
and the length is as large as the breadth. The length 
and the breadth and the height of it are equal." 
But to resume our narrative. It became apparent 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 21 

about the middle of April tliat the flood-tide of sal- 
vation which had thus rolled in so wonderfully upon 
our favored city, was beginning to turn. The sea- 
son of holy joy on the part of some of the people of 
God, gave place to most intense anxiety. " Has this 
mighty work gone deep enough into our hearts ?" 
^'In this general baptism of the Holy Spirit, are we 
careful to realize the necessity for an individual, 
personal, baptism ?" " Do we not need a fuller con- 
secration to the work of Christ, one more entire and 
unreserved, than we have ever made before ?" Such 
were the searching questions which God himself 
was soon to answer in his most solemn providence. 

Among those whose. heart was with the Jayne's 
Hall meeting from its very commencement, and who 
long before had caught the blessed spirit of Chris- 
tian union, like some lofty mountain the earliest rays 
of sunrise, was ^'Thb Child of Prayer.'' Daily was 
he seen upon the platform, none happier than he in 
the belief that again the windows of heaven had 
been opened above us, and God. was pouring out 
his blessing. Often did his voice of earnest exhor- 
tation alike to saint and sinner, sound in our ears 
with all the clearness and sweetness of a silver trum- 
pet. Once and again did he lead us in the great 
congregation as we repeated with him, and learned 
again as it were, the meaning of that holy prayer 
which Jesus himself taught to his disciples — '' Our 
Father who art in Heaven, hallowed be thy name, 
thy kingdom come, thy will be done /" But ah ! how 
soon was the sincerity of this last petition to be put 
to a most fearful trial ! 

Reminding us, as he did, in so many respects by 



22 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

his fervent and intelligent piety, of tliat burning and 
shining light, John the Baptist, the great Harbinger 
of the Messiah, like him also he was cut off suddenly 
— unexpectedly — and in the prime of life — just at 
the very moment when of all others he was the most 
precious to the church of God and could the least 
be spared. And all that remained for us in our sore 
bereavement was to imitate the disciples of John, 
and go '^ and tell Jesus.'' That scene on the 22nd 
of April in Concert Hall ; the entire evangelical 
clergy of the city on the platform; the Young Men's 
Christian Association of which he was an original 
member, in the gallery ; the members of his own 
beloved church occupying the centre of the Hall ; 
that funeral procession along the aisle ; the burst of 
anguish that broke forth universally throughout that 
immense congregation, when the coffin was set 
down ; that deeply afflicted father ; that solemn charge 
of Bishop Mcllvaine to his brethren in the ministry to 
know nothing but ^' Jesus Christ and him crucified" 
— will they ever be forgotten ? Granted that they 
may be when those w^ho were then present shall 
have passed away, yet that dying message, " Tell 
them, to Stand up for Jesus," will be forgotten 
never ! never ! IS'ever in Philadelphia ! never in 
America ! never in the world ! 

" And they embalmed him !" (Gen 1. 26.) Such 
was the text of the brother who delivered the funeral 
discourse, nor could he possibly have chosen one 
more truly or more tenderly appropriate. 

It is not too much to say, that with the death of 
the lamented Tyng came a new epoch in the history 
of the revival. Not in vain did the Young Men's 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 23 

Association adopt his message as their motto. Not 
in vain were the strong hands of Christian and min- 
isterial union pledged in cordial grasp over that 
coffin ! The mantle of his active and fraternal spirit 
fell upon them all. One in Christ ! one with Christ ! 
one/(9r Christ ! why should it be otherwise ? 

Perhaps never in the entire history of the church 
since the days of the Eeformation were the winds 
and waves that too often disturb her bosom, more 
thoroughly subdued and hushed to rest, than in our 
city during the few days, that intervened from the 
death of this beloved brother, until his remains were 
committed to the tomb. Once more Christianity 
seemed to reach her true summit level. The kind 
fraternal and co-operative spirit that had thus been 
developed, must of necessity find some appropriate 
sphere in which to manifest itself. It looks for a 
field on which to enter, and lo ! white unto the har- 
vest, it finds it in that of Union Missions. 

It was asserted that if on any given day all the 
evangelical churches should be filled, nearly one half 
of the population would be excluded for want of 
room. Hence the necessity as in former times of 
revival, for ''field preaching" of some kind, and 
after careful deliberation as to the best manner in 
which it could be secured, it was unanimously re- 
solved in favor of the Union Tabernacle. The 
"big tent," as it is commonly called, was fitted up 
at the expense of some two thousand dollars, with 
suitable accommodation for three thousand persons ; 
many of the contributions towards it being tliank- 
ofterings from those who had recently been converted. 



24 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

On Saturday the 1st of May, it was dedicated by 
appropriate religions services. There was present 
a large concourse of people, morning, afternoon, and 
evening, and at least fifty clergymen of various 
evangelical denominations. In the different services, 
representatives of no less than fifteen of these de- 
nominations took some part, and thereby gave their 
coantenance and public approbation to the move- 
ment. 

During the first two months there were fifty-three 
sermons preached by ministers in connection with 
eleven different branches of the church of Christ ; 
and the aggregate number of those present was fifty- 
one thousand. During the four and a half months 
that the tent was in the city, there Were held in it 
three hundred and thirty-three meetings, viz : twelve 
inquiry meetings, thirty-seven children's meetings, 
one hundred and seventeen prayer meetings, and 
one hundred and seventy-nine services at which 
there was preaching. The number present during 
these various services has been estimated in the 
aggregate at one hundred and fifty thousand ; tc 
whom the gospel has been proclaimed by ministers 
in connection with nineteen different branches of 
the church of Christ. 

The whole number of those who have professed 
conversion in connection with the services of the 
tent in the city is about two hundred. Of the 
multitudes of those who were convicted there, and 
professed their faith in various churches, we can 
form no estimate. 

Conversion of an Old Man. — One day after 
a sermon on the text, " Choose ye this day 



THE WORK OP aOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 25 

whom ye will serve/' an aged man made Ws way 
to the pulpit with tearful eyes, saying he now 
felt it was high time to make a decision ; that 
the world had deceived and ruined him ; and that 
having a disease of the heart, he expected any mo- 
ment to be called into an eternity for which he had 
made no preparation. "My sins/' said he, "have 
been so many and great that I despair of any hope, 
and I can see myself already in the outer circle of the 
whirlpool of eternal death. If I had had strength I 
should have stood up before the congregation, and 
stretching out my skeleton hand, have bade the 
young look at me and take warning. Next day he 
came to the tent for consultation, when he remarked 
that "he knew historically so much of Christ, that 
he supposed if all the sins of all men from the time 
of Adam down, could be heaped on the head of one 
sinner and personified in his experience, that even 
such a wretch Christ would be both willing and able 
to save, if he would but come to him," and "yet 
somehow," said he, " I cannot believe that there is 
mercy for me." He was made the subject of special 
and earnest prayer. The day following he sent 
word from his dying bed, that his doubts and fear 
had vanished, and all within was peace." Was not 
this a brand plucked from the fire ? 

Conversion op a Skeptic. — At the closing 
meeting of the tent at Fourth and George 
Streets, a man some thirty years of age, and 
of no ordinary intelligence made the following 
statement, which at the request of a number who 
heard him was afterwards committed to writing : 



26 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

'' Passing the tent one evening, curiosity prompted 
me to enter. I stayed until the exercises were over, 
and left rather interested, determined to spend an 
evening or two afterwards in listening to the vari- 
ous views of ministers belonging to different de- 
nominations, on the subject of religion. I must 
confess, however, that all I heard there was one 
great principle of the Bible, namely Ohrisfs atone- 
ment for the sins of the world, and I began to think 
that there must be more in religion than I ever had 
given it credit for, to make men spend their time 
and money in trying to convince others of the error 
of their ways; so I still continued to attend the 
meetings. 

''The first time I really took any interest in that 
which concerned my soul, was while hearing a ser- 
mon preached from Proverbs ix. 12. It sent an 
arrow of conviction to my soul, and I went home 
persuaded that there was a God, able and willing to 
save, but whose stern sense of justice would compel 
him to punish all those who knowing his will, defied 
his power. I was at that time fully aware of the 
fact that for many, many years, I had walked in the 
high road to destruction ; heeding not the voice of 
conscience; keeping away from the house of God, lis- 
tening to those who denied his existence, and follow- 
ing the pleasures of the world through all their stages, 
even to the verge of the drunkard's grave ! Well 
may I love that tent ! If a man never forgets the 
place of his earthly birth, how much more must he 
remember the place where he is born of God, and 
becomes a joint heir with Jesus Christ. I consider 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 27 

the tliought heaven-born that caused a tent to be 
erected for worship in the summer season. The 
poor sinner will be drawn into it when you could 
not persuade him to enter a church. In my own 
case for instance, I had heard of the great revival 
going on in Jayne's Hall, in the Engine and Hose 
companies, and almost in every part of the city, and 
yet never visited any of these places, with the ex- 
ception of once going into Jayne's Hall and staying 
about five minutes. But loitering about one even- 
ing, thinking of any thing but religion, I entered the 
tent, and I who had scarcely been in a church for 
the last fifteen years became aware that there was 
something else than earthly pleasures, that there 
was a God to fear, a Saviour to love, and an inherit- 
ance in heaven for all who believe in him, and fol- 
low in his footsteps.'' 

Conversion of a Gambler. — Among others who 
found their way to the tent one evening was a man 
who had long been addicted to intoxication ; so com- 
pletely also was he infatuated with the excitement 
of gambling, that whole days and nights were spent 
by him in this miserable employment. On one occa- 
sion he had gone so far as to play a game of cards 
on the ^'cooling board" on which was lying the 
corpse of his own sister. But even this man was 
not beyond the reach of the arm that is mighty to 
save ! He whose name is ''Jesus, "because he saves his 
people from their sins^ has saved him from gambling 
and he is now an industrious man ; saved him from 
intemperance, and now he is a sober man, a good 
citizen and a consistent Christian. 



28 the work of god in philadelphia. 

Conversion of a Tavern-keeper — striking into 
A new path. — A man who had been brought up in a 
country tavern from the time he was three years 
of age ; who had always been in the habit of using 
liquor, often to excess, stepped into the tent one 
afternoon, out of mere curiosity. Finding that they 
were holding a temperance meeting for boys, he 
thought he would hear what they had to say. " For 
the jfirst time in my life,'' said he, " I felt that I was 
a sinner and fast hastening to a drunkard's grave. 
At the close of the services, hearing them offer to 
every boy who signed the pledge, a new Testament, 
I determined then and there to strike into a new 
path. I rose from my seat, went forward to the 
desk, asked them to let me sign the pledge, and 
give me a Testament. After this, feeling that I had 
taken one right step, I resolved to go forward ; and 
returning home, I prayed to God for pardon until I 
found it in Jesus Christ. My father, and almost 
our whole family are now converted. We have 
given up tavern-keeping, and gone to farming, hap- 
pier and more prosperous in every way, than when 
engaged in selling rum." 

Conversion of a German. — " God has many times 
called me to repentance, so that I have even been 
led to pray for a new heart, and the forgiveness of 
my sins. But then Satan would follow me up close- 
ly, and try to make me believe that I was good 
enough to go to heaven, that I was not as bad as 
others, that to go to church once a Sunday, and be 
honest and charitable, &c., was all that was necessa- 
ry. This did not satisfy me, however. I felt some- 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 29 

thing more was necessary than mere formality. So 
I tried to serve God and mammon together ; to please 
God in some way or other, but at the same time not 
give np the world. Thus both myself and my wife 
grew colder and colder, until suddenly God took 
away our only child. Feeling this to be another 
call to leave the world, we determined to seek Christ 
that we might go to that happy place where our 
dear child had gone to, but we did not realize our 
determination. After this I entered into business 
with great prospects of success ; but again we saw 
the finger of God, and we lost almost every thing 
we had. Thank God that we did not prosper, or 
we might have been lost forever. Again therefore 
we sought the Lord more earnestly than before, but 
O ! we gave way again. So God took away another 
child just as dear to us as the first; but another call 
and another determination resulted no better than 
the others. It was necessary that we should be af- 
fiicted still more. A third child died, then a be- 
loved mother, then I was brought to the verge of 
the grave myself. But thank God, he saved my life 
that he might save my soul. After going on in this 
miserable way year after year, at length the Tent 
came. Never did I feel the call of God so much, so 
strong, so earnestly as there. Never before did I 
hear the plan of salvation laid down so simply, so 
distinctly and with so much warmth and earnest- 
ness, as by the different servants of God who preach- 
ed there. Each invitation seemed to be the last that 
we should ever receive, and we felt that it was now 
or never. * *. Thus has this blessed union tent 

3* 



30 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

been the means of brino^ino: me, mA^ dear wife and 
dear brother to our blessed Redeemer !" 

Conversion of a Teamster. — Having heard that 
the tent was to be removed to a new localitv, he went 
to the superintendent and asked the privilege of 
hauling it, free of charge^ both now and whenever 
in future it was to be moved. As he '^ had there been 
born again," he wished thus to show his gratitude. 

The closing services of the tent in each of the lo- 
calities where it has been pitched, have been solemn 
and affecting in the extreme. ISo better description 
can w^e give than this, that it was as if the good and 
great Physician himself had been visibly present be- 
fore the multitude, and was about to take his final 
departure, leaving many still unhealed. The grief 
that is sometimes witnessed on a funeral occasion is 
the only comparison that will at all do justice to the 
overwhelming sorrow and distress of those to whom 
the ''Tent" had been their only gospel home, and 
who felt as if the call was, " Come now to Christ, or 
you wall never come, and be lost forever !" 

Thus it was on the removal of the tent from 
Broad street. Up to this time, its location had only 
been changed from one portion of the city to another, 
and was still accessible ; but now that the candle- 
stick was to be reiiK^vedout of its place, men ''heard as 
for their lives." Those who had Idtlierto been neg- 
ligeiL of the invitations of the gospel were now m?de 
to feel the power of its Sanctions. Especially 
during the closing address, it seemed to us as if we 
were in the midst of falling thunderbolts. Nearly 
a hundred rose for prayer ; many remained in the 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 31 

tent and could scarcely be persuaded to leave it at 
eleven o'clock; and the inquiry meeting the next 
day at a private house, so far as the distress of sin- 
ners was concerned, was Pentecost over again. For 
a time praying, singing, or speaking were equally 
out of the question, and if ever the servants of Christ 
needed the tongue of the learned to speak a word in 
season to those that were weary, it was at that house 
in Fifteenth street. 

Still more remarkable was the history of the last 
day of the tent in Quakertown. Strictly speaking 
the " Canvas Church" was not a new idea, but one 
that had been gradually developing itself through a 
series of years. The real germ of it is to be found 
in a ^'portable pulpit" used in his missionary tour 
by the same brother who afterwards projected the 
"Union Tabernacle," and who has thus far so suc- 
cessfully superintended its operations. Originally 
the tent was designed for the country, to be used for 
preaching, just as the "big tent" had been employ- 
ed in this State in 1855 for Temperance. Some of 
the heaviest contributors toward it, resided in the 
country, and the understanding was that after it had 
accomplished its mission for the time in the city, it 
might be removed into various counties in the State 
where the Providence of God would indicate ; partic- 
ularly among the Germans. 

The first place where it was pitched after leaving 
the city was Quakertown, a village of some five 
hundred inhabitants ; thrifty, industrious, intelligent, 
but where, with the exception of a Friends' (Hicks- 
ite) meeting-house, on the outskirts, there was no 



32 THE WORK OF GOB IN PHILADELPHIA. 

churcli, and where, nntil recently, sucli a thing as 
a public prayer-meeting has never been known. 
A field more unpromising into which to intro- 
duce evangelical truth, it is very diflacult to imag- 
ine. The opposition was characteristic. "The tent 
is a trap to make money," they said, and seve- 
ral days elapsed before the people could be per- 
suaded otherwise. Even those who stood around 
the doors, ventured in only after the strongest as- 
surances, and the most urgent and repeated invita- 
tions. But this as it afterwards appeared was only 
for the trial of our faith. The earnest, heartfelt 
petitions of the noon prayer-meeting in Jayne's 
Hall, offered daily for the success of the Union Tab- 
ernacle in its new field of operations, entered into 
the ear of the God of Sabaoth. Israel prevails 
against Amalek. The walls of Jericho fall down 
before the ark of the Covenant. The same gospel 
that at the beginning went forth " conquering and 
to conquer,'' that triumphed over Judaism in Jeru- 
salem, philosophy in Athens, sensuality in Corinth, 
barbarism in Melita, idolatry at Rome, and worldli- 
ness in Philadelphia, was also destined to gain no in- 
significant triumph in this little village of Quaker- 
town. 

After nine days of preaching, during which " the 
word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed,'' it 
was determined according to previous arrangement, 
to strike the tent on the 6th of October. At 2 P. 
M. of that day while engaged in public worship, the 
congregation were suddenly interrupted by a burst 
of youthful voices singing the hymn — 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 33 

How pleasant thus to dwell below, 

In fellowship of love, 
And though we part, 'tis bliss to know, 

The good shall meet above, &c. 

and ending each verse with the chorus, 

I that will be joyful. 
To meet to part no more. 
On Canaan's happj shore, 
And sing the everlasting song 
With ,those who've gone before. 

Thus singing, round and round the tent the children 
inarched bearing in front of them a beautiful ban- 
ner, garlanded with fresh and fragrant flowers, with 
the motto — "We love him, because he first loved 
us." As may be imagined, both the speaker and 
the audience were much aflected, by this unlooked 
for testimony of the new Sunday-school children to 
the good that had been wrought in the tent during 
the time that it was pitched in their village, and as 
the words, '^part no more,'' "part no more,'' were 
echoed and re-echoed through the tent, no doubt 
they thought of the time, when Jesus made his tri- 
umphant entry into Jerusalem, and the children 
echoed through the temple, Hosanna, Ilosanna to 
the Son of David ! At the close of the services, the 
little singers presented as a token of their gratitude 
four magnificent wreaths, " a perishable memorial 
of good imperishable." What added still further to 
the value of these wreaths, was the fact that they 
were woven by the young men and young women 
who had been converted in the tent, and who all the 
while that they were weaving them, Avere singing 



34 THE WORK OF GOD m PHILADELPHIA. 

and praying for the future success of the tent in its 
mission of truth and love. 

But it was at the close of the evening service that 
^^the fountains of the great deep were broken np." 
''You saw," savs an eve witness, '-'the closino^ ser- 
vices of the tent in Philadelphia, and know their 
character — but there is no comparison between the 
scene in Philadelphia and at Quakertown. The 
latter beggars all description. "Would that I could 
paint such a picture as was given that night by the 
recording angel before the throne of God ! To my 
own mind, it appeared more like the evening after 
a dav of battle than anvthino- else I could think of. 
There were those who were rejoicing in the victory 
that had been achieved in the name of the Lord. 
There, those who with tears of gratitude in their 
eyes, pressed forward to thank the Captain of Sal- 
vation, for their deliverance from the captivity of 
Satan. There too in little groups, were gathered 
the wounded in spirit and the sorrowing in heart, 
with the ministers and Chiistians belonging to vari- 
ous branches of the church of our Lord, standing 
in the midst of them and pointing them to the great 
Physician of souls — ' By whose stripes we are 
healed.' 

'- It was eleven o'clock, P. M., before the people 
left the tent, and then onlv a2:aiu to assemble in two 
different houses, the English in one, and the Ger- 
mans in the other, for personal conversation and 
prayer. There were seen kneeling side by side in 
the same row, a mother, a son and a daughter ; a 
young married lady, her husband, her mother, two 



/ 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 35 

brothers and two sisters ! And in the other house, a 
father, mother, four adult sons, and a daughter, 
constituting with the exception of a little child, the 
entire family. 

" The scene at the German meeting was such an 
one as has been very seldom witnessed. Filling the 
front room, the back room, the entry, the stair case, 
the porch, and some of them standing out of doors, 
were more than an hundred persons, putting the 
earnest inquiry, "What must I do to be saved ? 

" "W"e continued talking and praying with them 
until midnight, and then, how hard it was to say 
farewell L ^' Don't leave us until we find Jesus," ex- 
claimed one in the agony of her heart, and such 
seemed to be the feeling among them all. It was 
not until two o'clock in the morning that the last 
inquirer had left the house, and we found an oppor- 
tunity to pour out our gratitude to God for the 
wonders he had this day wrought." 

That all this was not mere temporary excitement is 
evident from the fact, that immediately on the tent 
being taken down, eleven of the j)rominent men of the 
village, representing six different denominations or- 
ganized themselves into a committee, and on the 
very same lot of ground on which the tent had been 
pitched, erected a Winter Tabernacle, eighty-five 
by sixty feet, which was dedicated to the worship 
of Almighty God with appropriate services, Novem- 
ber 7th, 1858. They present the singular spectacle 
of a little community, who by the simple preach- 
ing of the gospel are only Christians, and nothing 
more — and who while they love those of every 



36 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

name wlio preach Jesus Christ and him crucified, 
and give them a cordial welcome, have no distinc- 
tive name of their own. The interest awakened 
on their behalf is intense, and we do most earn- 
estly entreat of every Christian brother and sister 
into whose hands these pages may fall, that they 
would remember in their prayers the little com- 
pany of disciples at Quakertown. As yet the seam- 
less robe has not been rent. God grant by his 
Spirit and his Providence that it may continue 
whole. 

Interesting, however, as is the history of the work 
of God in connection with the '^ Tent,'' there is 
another chapter in " Union Missions" which in some 
respects at least, is still more remarkable. About 
the same time that services were commenced in the 
Tabernacle, a very deep and unusual interest began 
to be manifested by many Christians on behalf of the 
Firemen of Philadelphia. Numbering nearly an 
hundred companies, and enrolling on their lists 
thousands of members, active and contributing; 
owning for the most part their own engine and hose 
houses, and composed principally of young men in 
the very prime of life, it is easy to see, why they too 
should be made the subjects of earnest prayer. The 
ties of grace like those of nature are not to be re- 
stricted within temporary and artificial limits. A 
son is a son, a brother a brother, a husband a hus- 
band, no matter what the association with which he 
may be identified. Hence at a very early period 
in the history of the revival, sermons were delivered 
in churches and halls to the firemen; and in the 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 37 

various "Union Meetings'' special prayer was made 
for their conversion. At length the subject was 
taken up by the Young Men's Christian Associa- 
tion, and it was resolved, after due deliberation, to 
commence a series of "Firemen's prayer-meetings." 
''Firemen's prayer-meetings," said one, "whoever 
dreamed of such a thing?" And yet, wild and 
Quixotic as it seemed in the first instance, the 
movement has abundantly manifested itself, as of 
the Lord. 

Scarcely had the resolution been adopted when a 
Hose company came forward, and ofiered the use of 
their hall for a prayer-meeting, even before any ap- 
plication had been made to them for this purpose. 
The offer was promptly accepted, and the meeting 
commenced ; at first, with only a few in attendance, 
but afterwards, as the result of personal effort with 
the members of the company, with many more. 

"At the first Firemen's prayer-meeting," said a 
brother, "I saw a young man, whom I was accustom- 
ed to meet daily elsewhere. It appeared my duty 
to speak to him about his soul. I did so next day, 
and found him an attentive hearer. I followed up 
the conversation by a letter, setting before him the 
finished work 6f Christ for Him, and the claims of 
Christ upon him, in just such a simple form as I 
hoped might be blessed of the Holy Spirit. A few 
days after I went to see him; but without any appa- 
rent desire to avoid the claims of Christ upon him 
for his love and obedience, he seemed to think that 
his * coming to Christ' must be a progressive work. 
I preached to him a present Jesus, able to save, 
4 



88 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 



willing to save, and to save Mm now! At the 
close of the conversation, in answer to a propo- 
sal to meet me at the throne of grace that night at 
ten o'clock, he at his house, and I at mine, he re- 
plied, ' I never prayed in my life, I know not how 
to pray.' Shovdng him from the parable of the 
Pharisee and Publican, what prayer was, he prom- 
ised with a full heart to comply with my request. 
At noon I went to one of our smaller union meet- 
ings and presented his case there ; in the evening, I 
did the same thing at our own church prayer-meet- 
ing, and suggested to all who would feel it a privi- 
lege so to do, to unite at the hour of ten o'clock in 
one supplication for that young man. The hour I 
have reason to believe was well observed. The next 
morning about ten o'clock, I saw him approaching 
me in the street. Grasping me cordially by the 
hand, the tears pouring down his cheeks, and his 
voice almost choked by emotion, he exclaimed, 
' God blessed my soul last night, while I waited be- 
fore him.' * *. Several months have now elapsed, 
and he is still an humble and consistent follower of 
Jesus Christ." 

Encouraged by the success of the first prayer- 
meeting, a second was soon opened in another com- 
pany, and here too the blessing of God was almost 
immediately apparent ; so much so that on the 24th 
of March, one of its members presented himself in 
Jayne's Hall, and bore the following testimony to 
what God had done for his soul. 

" I am a poor Fireman. I never spoke before on 
any occasion, and I want you to pray for me now 



THE WORK OP GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 39 

that I may do what I promised God I would do, al- 
most the very moment I found peace to my soul. 
I attended the first prayer-meeting held in our Hose 
house, and there my feelings were deeply aroused. 
I felt I was a sinner. I knew I had no interest in 
my Saviour. But I felt that I wanted an interest in 
him, and before I left that room, I resolved with the 
help of God, from that night, that I would forsake 
all my evil ways and try to serve God all the remain- 
der of my life. Just before I made this resolve many 
things came into my mind. I had one particular as- 
sociate, one in whose company I always felt happy. 
We always went together, and I loved him. Thoughts 
of this kind came up : Could I quit his company ? 
I knew I would have to as an associate. I knew I 
would have to give up all my old companions as as- 
sociates, and I thank God that I felt that I could not 
leave that room that night without making the re- 
solve to do so. 

"As I sat and heard the different brothers exhort 
and offer prayer, I felt that I would like to become 
a Christian too. I thought that they must be really 
happy, and from that night I commenced to pray 
God to make me a Christian. I was out of employ- 
ment at that time, and through the day I would go 
up in my room and shut myself in. I would then 
take the Bible and read two or three chapters, and 
afterwards kneel down and pray. I went on so for 
about two weeks, at least seven or eight times a day, 
but still I could not find the Saviour. I commenced 
getting discouraged. I had heard that the Holy Spirit 
would not always strive with man, and I began to 



40 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

feel alarmed. I would sit in my room and try to 
make solemn tlionghts. I thonglit if I could get 
solemn then I could get on my knees and pray to 
God. I would try to tliink on God and then on hell, 
but I could not get the feeling I wanted. I felt as 
if I wanted some instruction, I could not pray 
aright. I determined therefore at one of the meet- 
ings in our Hose house, to ask one of our brothers 
what I must do to become a Christian ? After the 
meeting was over, I followed a brother to the cor- 
ner ; I then stopped him and told him I would like 
to become a Christian. I told him I had endeavored 
to pray, but I could not pray feelingly. He invited 
me to come to the church where he attended. I did 
so, and was there introduced to one of the members 
who asked me to call and see him the next day. I 
was very glad of the opportunity, but I could not 
get off from my business, as we were then much 
hurried. During the week I felt very uneasy, so 
much so that I could not wait any longer, so I quit 
my work, and went to see the brother who had in- 
vited me. When I went to see him I was very anx- 
ious, but when I left his place, I must confess that 
it was with joy. The way to be saved appeared so 
clear and simple, that I could not restrain my rap- 
ture. He clearly showed me that I could not come 
to God with any merits of my own ; that none of 
my works were of any avail ; that I was not to try 
to make myself righteous, but that I should go to 
Christ ^just as I am,' with all my sins, with all my 
unfeelingness, looking away from myself, and ask- 
ing God to have mercy upon me, only for the sake 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 41 

of Jesus Christ ! That night I went home with joy, 
and when I went to my prayers, I did go different 
from any time in my life. I prayed without waiting 
to get feeling. After I had done praying, and got 
up off my knees, I did not feel that God had blessed 
me. But some ten or fifteen minutes after I had 
got in bed, there was one of the happiest feelings I 
ever had in my life. I was so really happy, that I 
was going to wake my bedfellow, to tell him how 
happy I was. But I thought he would not know 
what I meant. I must have gone to sleep in this 
happiness, for in the morning my heart was full, and 
I could not rest until I told all my people and all 
my associates, what God had done for my soul. O 
pray for me and for all the firemen, for greatly do 
we need your prayers." 

We are happy to add that this testimony was not 
given in vain, but that his '^ bedfellow,'' and more 
than one of his associates, were soon found walking 
with him in the ways of righteousness, as once 
they had walked in the ways of sin. 

Here is the testimony of one of them given one 
Saturday evening at a Young Men's prayer-meeting. 

^'I feel as though I wanted to say something to 
this meeting, and yet I don't know hardly what to 
say. My heart is full. 

" I was thinking to-night on coming to this meet- 
ing, on passing a house where I used to pass my 
Saturday nights, why I didn't care to spend them 
there any more ! I know I don't, and that I feel a 
great deal better to be here. 

"A little thing happened to me the other night 

4* 



42 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

down at tlie Hose house. I was thinking whether 
I could be as good a fireman since my conver- 
sion as before, and I find I can be a letter one, I 
bunk at the hose house, and of late I have been 
sleeping in the meeting room ; — for, (and here his voice 
faltered) — I feel that in that room I was lorn again^ 
and I love that room. Well, we are having some re- 
pairs done to our house, and the other night the com- 
pany had to turn into the meeting room to sleep too, 
as the bunk room was upside down. When my bed- 
time came, there were quite a number of the com- 
pany in the room. Now, I am in the habit of read- 
ing a chapter in my Testament, and of ofiering up a 
prayer to God, before I go to bed. I felt that I 
couldn't go to sleep until I had done that; but some- 
how I felt a little backward there, for I was afraid 
that they would laugh and jeer at me. Still I 
thought it had got to be done. So I went up to the 
desk, turned the gas on a little brighter, opened my 
Testament, and began to read. It was in Matthew, 
a very interesting chapter, all about Judas Iscariot 
betraying his Master, and how sorry he was for it 
afterwards. This made me determine not to betray 
him. But w^hile I was reading, every man of the 
company kept as quiet and orderly as could be. 

''After I had got through reading, I went to my 
settee, and surely I thought they would have some- 
thing to say, when they saw me on my knees in 
prayer. But I got down first on one knee and then 
on another, — and would you believe it? There 
wasn't a noise or a remark made. Whilst I was so 
engaged you might have heard a pin drop all 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 48 

through the room, and when I was through, I laid 
down and went to sleep, with a smile on my lips, — 
and it was the happiest night in all my life. 

^^Now I want to say to any young man in this 
room, to-night, if there is any one here who is afraid 
to come out, and Stand up for Jesus, for fear of 
your companions laughing at you, or making fun of 
you, it is a foolish feeling. I tell you, if there is 
any laughing, or jeering, or scoffing going on, you 
will not find it among Firemen, — and I tell you, too, 
that they respect me to-day more than they ever 
did when I was not a Christian." 

On the 25th of April one of the oldest and most 
influential companies in the city, threw open their 
hall for a daily prayer meeting. The hall being 
unusually large, well furnished, and in a central lo- 
cation, became at once a rallying point not only for 
firemen, but for their mothers and sisters, for stran- 
gers, and for Christians generally. Perhaps next to 
Jayne'sHall and the " Union Tabernacle," the history 
of the '' Diligent" meeting constitutes one of the most 
remarkable features in the whole revival. To see a 
few praying young men enter the Hall of a company 
in which up to that time, of its active members, there 
was not a single member of the church of Christ, to 
see these young men conciliated, interested, and 
prevailed upon to attend the meetings ; to see one 
after another under the striving of the Holy Spirit, 
rise in their places, and thus express their desires 
that the people of God should remember them in 
prayer ; to see day after day those of them who had 
resolved '^ to cease to do evil," and " learn to do well," 



44 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

coming out on the Lord's side, and professing their 
determination to " Stand up for Jesus;" eventually 
to see this very prayer meeting conducted by the 
members of the company, and sustained by their 
prayers and exhortations, was a sight, which, con- 
sidering all the circumstances of the case, the age of 
these young men, their previous history and their 
peculiar temptations, has never known a parallel 
in our city. 

Instead of general description however, we sub- 
mit a few extracts from the reports of the committee 
having the meeting in charge : 

'^ August 28th. The meetings during the past week 
have been characterized by a manifest presence of 
the Holy Spirit. JSTever have we witnessed such 
deep solemnity. The Hall has been filled every 
afternoon, and on some occasions several were 
standing in the passage. On last Sabbath evening 
at an early hour the room was full to overflowing. 
Many went away unable to get seats. ''So large was 
the attendance it was thought best to start another 
meeting in one of the upper stories. This second 
meeting numbered over an hundred, and the voice 
of praise, and prayer, and exhortation, ascended 
and mingled together in these two rooms. 

"Requests of a most touching nature are daily 
offered, and made the subject of united prayer. 
One of these deserves notice. A young man who 
acknowledged himself in the request as being pre- 
sent, stated therein, that he had no hope in Jesus, 
but he desired the prayers of the meeting in behalf 
of a dear sister, who was also without hope in the 



/. 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 45 

Saviour, and fast sinking into the grave with con- 
sumption. His desire was that the sister might go 
to heaven to meet Christian parents there. A most 
singular instance of the striving of the Holy Spirit 
in the hearts of poor sinners ; but, we may add, by 
no means a solitary instance. The confidence of 
the impenitent in the power of prayer has not 
unfrequently been such as to shame Christians 
themselves. 

" September 4th. The present week has been one 
of renaarkable blessing. On Sabbath evening, long 
before the hour arrived, the principal hall in the 
second story was filled. The room in the third 
story was also filled. The room above, in the 
fourth story, had every seat occupied, the passage 
and stairway were crowded with anxious listeners, 
and many went away not being able to obtain seats. 
In the second story there was present a delegation 
of about twenty-five members from one company, 
and of twenty members from another. Unusual 
solemnity and earnestness characterized all the 
meetings, and it was a night long to be remem- 
bered. 

"Some weeks ago so great was the interest, it 
was thought advisable to request members of the 
company to remain after the dismissal of the meet- 
ing, to spend a short season in prayer. This little 
meeting, held at the close of the regular meeting, 
has been wonderfully blessed. We do not know 
what name to give it. There is no formality in it. 
A brother starts a hymn ; another follows in prayer, 



46 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA, 

and another, and still another. It seems like the 
gathering of the disciples after the death and ascen- 
sion of our blessed Master. His Spirit is evidently 
with ns, and our earnest prayer is that he may 
breathe upon us more and more every day. Truly, 
God is doing great things for his people!'' 

One of these supplemental meetings was a very 
remarkable one; but we do not feel at liberty on 
this account, merely because it was remarkable, to 
withhold the testimony of brethren in relation to it. 
Not aiming to work out any theory by what we 
state, we desire to be as far from suppression on the 
one hand, as from exaggeration on the other. 

'^"When we came out of the meeting in the 
second story," says a good brother, ^'finding that 
they were still singing in the fourth story, I, with 
several others went up there, to join them in their 
worship. After prayer, and singing, the power of 
the blessed Spirit's influence was so felt in that 
room, and there was such a heavenly atmosphere 
pervading it that every heart was filled with joy 
unspeakable. The ^baptism' came down indeed. 
Such a season of ^refreshing from the presence of 
the Lord,' I scarcely ever felt before. It was worth 
a life-time of trial to be permitted to enjoy it." 

The tender, devotional spirit of these meetings 
has reminded almost all who entered them, of the 
^' upper room" at Jerusalem. Rarely indeed has 
any meeting passed without the manifested presence 
of the Holy Spirit — that sweet melting of heart 
which Christians so well know, but which they find 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA, 47 

it SO impossible to describe. Perhaps no better 
representation of the spirit of these meetings was 
ever given than in the remark of a lady, that "it 
seemed to her just like family worship !'* Certainly 
the facts in the case warrant a full development of 
the idea. The people of God accustomed to assem- 
ble there, have felt just like one large family, and 
the very last question asked in reference to any of 
them is, to what denomination does he belong? It 
is the family name, the surname, that has been the 
dearest to them and not the name that goes before 
it. Most emphatically have they all been one in 
Christ Jesus. 

Some of the scenes that have been there witnessed 
have been thrilling in the extreme. About the first 
week in June, when the presence of the Holy Spirit 
in the minds and hearts of the impenitent was a fact 
that admitted and received no contradiction, a pro- 
minent member of the company rose to thank God 
that he had found peace in believing, and was then 
enabled to "Stand up for Jesus'' and confess him 
before men. Then turning immediately from the 
chairman to the audience, his eye searching every 
part of the room as if to find some one in particular, 
he exclaimed with an earnestness and tenderness of 
manner that melted every heart : " And I have a 
very dear friend in this room, a member of this 
company ; I don't see him here, but I am sure he 
is here ; he needs Christ as much as I do ; I want 
him, I invite him to come to Christ and find pardon 
for his sins also ! Oh ! that all would come !" If the 
invitation was not accepted, it certainly was not the 
fault of him by whom it was extended. 



48 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

Among the various collateral incidents connected 
with this circumstance, perhaps one that occurred at 
another engine house, the Tuesday evening follow- 
ing, may be deemed worthy of special notice. The 
room was large, the meeting crowded, and the jB.re- 
men in attendance principally down by the door 
and standing in the entry. One of the speakers, 
who declared that the firemen for the last few days 
had been the first thought in the morning, and the 
last thought at night, and who believed that this 
was emphatically the firemen's accepted time, and 
the day of their salvation, told the company that by 
the grace of God, he meant to speak to them as 
plainly and afiectionately, as the converted fireman, 
who had the last week appealed to his impenitent 
companion. ^^I wish,'' said he, "to walk down this 
aisle to-night, as Paul did through the streets of 
Corinth, proclaiming on the right hand and on the 
left, that ' Christ died for our sins.' Could I cause 
all your sins to pass before you in long array, or 
place you in the midst of the falling thunderbolts 
of Sinai ; or suspend you by a single thread over the 
lake of fire, this would not suffice to bring you to 
repentance ; you must find it at the foot of the cross ; 
you must look on Him who died thereon, you dare 
not, cannot look long at the crucified one and re- 
main unmoved. You cannot candidly contemplate 
the thought that you have never thanked Jesus 
Christ for what he has done to save your soul, and 
deliberately remain his enemy by further impeni- 
tence and unbelief." 

The bow was drawn at a venture, but the arrow 
sped home to the heart for which God intended it. 



1 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 49 

At the close of the meeting, a young man with his 
face bmied in his hands, and sobbing audibly, pre- 
sented himself as a subject of prayer. So deeply 
did the thought of his ingratitude pierce through 
and through his heart, that for some time after the 
meeting was over, he had scarcely physical strength 
to rise from his seat and leave the room. That night 
he found his way as an inquirer to the house of his 
pastor ; and the next day at the noon prayer-meet- 
ing, all fear of man thrown aside, too full of joy to 
restrain its manifestation, his grateful exclamation 
was, " Come all ye that fear God, and I will declare 
what He hath done for my soul !" 

This confession again, in its turn, was the means 
of bringing out another. His heart was too full 
more than simply to arise in his place and thank 
God " that he had heard his prayers." "We asked and 
subsequently obtained from him the following com- 
munication : 

" On sitting down to write out my religious ex- 
perience, I feel a prayerful anxiety that I may relate 
only such things as may be for edification, and that 
I maybe kept from glorying in aught save the cross 
of Christ. "When, however, I think that possibly, one 
reader of these lines may be encouraged to pray 
without ceasing, and place all their hope upon that 
Saviour who has rescued me from the horrible pit, all 
distaste at the idea of making public the sacred 
communings of the Holy Spirit with my own soul, 
vanishes. 

"In' my boyhood, and as a young man, I was graci- 
ously restrained from open immorality, but I was 
5 



50 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

conscious in my own heart of being utterly vile in 
the sight of God, and often sought his face with 
earnest prayer. About two years ago I took part in 
a Sunday-school ; and here let me bear my testimony 
to the blessed effect of this kind of work on those 
engaging in it, and encourage every young person 
to enter such a field of labor in a prayerful spirit. 

" One Saturday night after preparing my Sunday 
lesson, I knelt in prayer, and ah ! how well I re- 
member that sweet opportunity; my whole soul seem- 
ed poured out before Jesus, that he would wash away 
my sins and plead my cause with God. It seemed to 
me I never had prayed so earnestly before, nor ever 
felt so anxious to be saved. I drew near unto God 
and he seemed to draw near unto me. I felt a sweet 
peace come over my soul while praying, and then a 
joy unspeakable and full of glory was shed abroad 
in my heart, and I knew that my Redeemer had 
borne the penalty of my sins on the accursed tree. 
I rose from my knees and awakened my dear wife, 
for I could not but want to have her rejoice with me 
that this soul that was dead in trespasses and sins 
had come to life." 

AFFECTiNa Appeal. — At a prayer meeting in an 
engine company, a brother rose and made the follow- 
ing statement. " At the fire which recently occurred 
in Market Street, a person was entirely buried be- 
neath the ruins, with the exception of his right arm. 
Attracted by his cries for relief, a fireman descended 
from the adjoining building and extricated him. 
Borne off upon a settee, insensible, he did not learn 
the name of his deliverer. On subsequently inquir- 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 51 

ing, he heard that the friendly fireman belonged to 
this very company where the meeting is to night. 
The man who was then saved, now stands before 
you. 1 am that man^ and I stand here to thank my 
deliverer ! and as the best way, of which I can think 
to show my gratitude to him, I now invite him to 
Jesus, the great deliverer of the soul.'' The subse- 
quent interview between the two men was deeply 
affecting. The invitation was received in good part 
by him to whom it was extended, and he promised 
that his soul should no longer remain uncared for. 

Singular Conversion. — On one of the hottest 
evenings in July w^e attended a little prayer meeting 
in a hose company, which was of great interest to us. 
At least one half of those who were present and who 
prayed and exhorted were converted firemen. The 
experience of the leader on taking the chair, briefly 
and unpretendingly as it was told, made upon us a very 
deep impression. ^' No man," said he, ''can be more 
surprised than I, to find myself in such a position. You 
all know me very well^ who I am, and what I have 
been." (His business was to supply the company 
with cigars and Sunday newspapers.) '' One Sun- 
day I was sitting in my shop reading a story in a 
Sunday newspaper. It was called 'Truth and 
Honesty,' and was about a little boy. After read- 
ing it I felt that there xoa% such a thing as truths and 
that it was better to do right than to do wrong. These 
were the feelings that first brought me to the prayer 
meetings, and now I hope I know what it is to be- 
lieve the truth that saves the soul." We called with 
him afterwards at his house, to see that paper. We 



52 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

found that lie had at once abandoned his business, 
and now as we write, the very paper lies before us, 
with the same mark it had upon it, when he drew 
it from the desk. Many times since have we seen 
that strong and earnest face in prayer meeting, but 
never without thinking, how much more God is 
able and willing to do for the conversion of sinners, 
than his people are to ask him to do it. If one man 
can be reached, at a time so unexpected, and by an 
instrumentality so apparently insignificant and in- 
sufficient, why not thousands and tens of thousands 
more ? 

Plain Questions and Honest Answers. — Dis- 
appointed one evening, in not finding any members 
of the company present, in their Hall, one of our 
number, leaving the prayer meeting, went down into 
the room below where most of the members were 
assembled, smoking and talking as usual. ^'I am 
very curious," said he, "to know just what you 
firemen think on the subject of religion! You 
have just as much right to your opinion as I 
have to mine, in this respect at least, that each one 
of us must give an account for himself unto God." 
Perceiving that they were not unwilling he should 
proceed, but rather invited further inquiry, "What, 
for example," said he, " do you think of the Bible ?" 
"Well," said one, "I believe it. G. don't you?" G. 
assenting, the same seemed to be the case with all, 
until at length one remarked, "I guess. Sir, we all 
believe the Bible, and that them that don't believe 
theBible don't come this way !" " Another question 
then, how many of you read the Bible?" "Ah! 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 53 

that ts another question," said the first spokesman. 
" Pardon me, however, if I put it ; when did you read 
the Bible last?" ''Not since I was home." "And 
you ?" " Not since I was at Sunday-school." " And 
you?" No answer. "Never read it at home or at 
Sunday-school ?" " I never went to Sunday-school." 
And thus the conversation continued, until many 
similar questions had been asked and answered. O 
to what multitudes of men in this city, firemen as 
well as others, is the holy book of God, like a letter 
still unopened, the seal still unbroken ; a letter still 
unread, though it comes to us bearing the image and 
the superscription of the King of kings himself! 
How large a portion of the ungodliness which we 
set down to the account of infidelity, may with 
much greater propriety be attributed to thoughtless- 
ness ? 

Swearing. — "Surely there is hope for any body 
if such an one as I can be received. Why Sir, for 
fifteen years I have been a fireman, and I used to be 
awfully profane ; so much so that I would scarcely 
utter five words without an oath. And at the fac- 
tory where I work, I used to use such awfully blas- 
phemous language, that the men before now have 
actually left me, and gone away to get out of the 
sound of my voice. If such a swearer as I, has been 
saved, there is hope for any !" 

How TO STOP Swearing. — Said another fireman, 
" God hears prayer. I know he does, I can prove it 
by my own experience. I was a dreadful swearer, 
and though ashamed of it, and often times resolved to 
give it up, no sooner was my resolution made than I 

5* 



54 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

Avould go away and s^Tear worse than ever. But one 
day, after I began to feel how wicked it was to take 
the name of God in vain, I looked to Jesus Christ to 
help me. And he has helped me. From that day 
on, I have not sworn a oath, nor do I feel any desire 
to swear ; bnt it is not myself, it is all of Christ, that 
I have been able to achieve the victory !'* 

"No Swearing, Boys." — One of the fire companies 
shortly after the revival commenced, made very earn- 
est efibrts to stem the tide of profanity, which had 
formerly been but too prevalent among them. On 
one occasion when there was an alarm of fire the 
director taking the lead as usual, suddenly wheeled 
round at a sound he heard, and roared through the 
trumpet with a voice of thunder. "ISTo swearing 
IN THIS COMPANY, BOYS !" Strangely did those words 
sound through the darkness of the night, and there 
are some who will never forget them ! We trust 
the same words will yet sound through many trum- 
pets more. 

A Sad Purpose Prevented. — "Well may I thank 
God for that Firemen's Prayer Meeting, and ac- 
knowledge it, too, to his glory and my own shame. 
For many years I had been an orphan. I had just 
lost my wife. Having nothing to live for, the sooner 
I got out of the world, it appeared to me, the better. 
I had even gone so far as to meditate the time and 
place of self-destruction ; but passing by an engine 
house, I heard singing. I went up and found a 
prayer meeting. A friend took me by the hand, 
and invited me to Christ. Hope sprang up in my 
heart. I thought I would try whether there was 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 55 

anything in this religion ; and now I am not ashamed 
to say to my brother firemen that there is. It can 
give peace where nothing else can give it, and make 
you happy as you could never have believed it possi- 
ble to be. ' taste, and see that the Lord is good.' '' 

CoiSrVERSION BY A SlNGLE WoRD. — " That night I 
felt as if I must go to the Firemen's Prayer Meeting, 
and as if there would be a message for me. Weeks 
and months together had passed away, and each 
week and month had only added to the darkness. I 
began to feel as if the gate of life would never be 
opened to me. But at the close of an earnest ex- 
hortation the brother inquired, 'Will you come to 
Jesus NOW ?' And my heart said. Yes ! From that 
moment my bonds were loosed, and I have been 
permitted to rejoice in that liberty wherewith 
Jesus makes his people free." 

The Fireman's Daughter. — At an alarm of fire 
recently in one of our common schools, a little girl 
was seen sitting very quietly, while others were 
rushing down stairs greatly to their injury. How 
came you not to do as the others ? asked her teach- 
er. " Why," said the little girl, "you see my father is 
a Fireman, and he told me if ever there w^as an 
alarm of fire in the school house, to sit perfectly still 
and I would certainly be saved. I believed father, 
that I would be saved, b^ doing just what he said.'' 
Had every fireman the same faith in what God says 
about Christ, that that fireman's daughter had in 
the word of her father, how soon would our prayers 
be turned to praises ! 

A Better Wish. — In the hall of one of the com- 



66 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

panies, stands an ancient speaking-trumpet under a 
glass case. ''Would/' said a speaker on one occa- 
sion, ''that instead of my feeble voice, I could take 
down this trumpet, and proclaim the gospel to you, 
so that you might be made to hear ! But no ! I 
recall that wish. It would be of no avail thus to 
speak to you. Only ' the still small voice' of the Holy 
Spirit can so speak to you as to make you hear." 
Only this indeed, only the Holy Spirit can speak 
the gospel to the heart. 

Firemen's Consciences not the Hardest. — Two 
influential members of a certain company opened a 
tavern not long since in the neighborhood of the 
hose house. Before the month was out, however, 
one of them gave it up. " Twenty-nine days," said 
he, ^' in the liquor business, is too much for my con- 
science !" What sort of consciences must they have 
who continue in it for years ? 

Answer to Prayer. — An old sailor thus spoke one 
day in Jayne's Hall. '^ I think I know how to prize 
the religion of Jesus. Once on a wreck for two 
weeks, and the only one there who had a hope in 
Christ, who can tell how precious that hope was to 
me ? Under God I owe my religion to my mother. 
Fifty-three years ago, when I was only eight years 
old, that dear mother, but a short time before her 
death, clasped me in her arms, and having prayed 
that we might meet in heaven, she slept in Jesus. 
To all human appearance, it seemed for a long time 
as if those prayers would not be answered. For 
forty-three years I was a drunkard and a blasphe- 
mer. But I rise in this meeting to-day to testify to 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 67 

the efficacy of prayer, and that I have found a 
Saviour." 

Silent Prayer. — At one of the first prayer-meet- 
ings in Jayne's Hall, a merchant from the South, 
noted for his profanity and infidel sentiments, find- 
ing that the young salesman was going there to the 
meeting, determined to accompany him. Turning 
to the other customers, he said that he wished it to 
be distinctly understood, that he went merely out of 
curiosity, to report what he saw, when he returned 
home. For a while the scene seemed to make little 
or no impression upon him ; but towards the close 
of the services, Rev. Dudley A. Tyng proposed to 
engage for five minutes in silent prayer. For a time 
the great congregation was as still as the chamber of 
death, and afterwards the merchant was observed to 
be weeping. '' Let us go," said he to the young man. 
'^IsTo," he replied, ^'the services will soon be over." 
When they left the hall, both walked some distance 
in perfect silence, which was at length broken by the 
merchant. " I never before felt," said he, '^ as I did 
to-day in that prayer-meeting. I do not know what 
came over me at the moment of silent prayer. I Avas, 
against my will, convinced, that these people were 
worshipping God sincerely, and that their religion 
was true. I have been a scofier at religion, a mem- 
ber of an infidel club, have bought and sold infidel 
books. But henceforth by the help of that God, 
whom I have hitherto rejected and defied, I am 
resolved to seek that religion with all my heart." 
Subsequent information has been received as to his 
union with the church, and also of the conversion 
of a brother in consequence of his own. 



58 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

The Minister's Son. — The prayers of the Jayne's 
Hall meeting were on one occasion requested by a 
minister for his son. The request was complied 
with and very earnest and inportunate supplication 
made on his behalf. A few days after, the father 
wrote that on his return home, he found his son 
very deeply convicted, and earnestly inquiring what 
he must do to be saved ? These convictions termi- 
nating in his hopeful conversion, the father and son 
came down together to the city, and there in the hall, 
to which they were attached by such sacred associa- 
tions, a number of brethren who well remembered 
the circumstances, had the pleasure of rejoicing with 
them in their joy. 

The Widow's Son. — Coming out from the Hal] one 
day, a lady said to us, " You know C. ? Some 
weeks ago, his brother, away off in a distant part of 
the country, wrote me, proposing that as this was a 
time when God was so marvellously hearing pray- 
er, we two should agree to pray for C. The proposal 
was at once accepted, and the letter mailed, but long 
ere it could have reached its destination, the prayer 
received its answ^er." 

" Go AND SIN NO MORE." — Meeting a poor woman 
one morning, we asked her to attend the meeting. 
At first she excused herself by saying she had work 
to do, but afterwards she came in and heard a 
prayer. That prayer touched her heart, and she 
found no peace until she found it at the foot of the 
cross. Her life, she said, had been profane, nor had 
she read the Bible since her childhood. She is now 
an humble follower of the Saviour so long neglected 



I 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 59 

by her, connected with the Church of Christ and 
laboring to do good to others. 

Prayer, power with God and Man. — A mis- 
sionary, illustrating one afternoon at the "Diligent'' 
meeting, the nature and power of intercessory 
prayer, told the following incident, which may also 
stand, for not a few similar ones recently witnessed 
in Philadelphia. "During a period of religious in- 
terest among the Choctaw Indians, to the surprise 
of many, a giant Indian came into one of their 
meetings and took his seat on a log, apparently out 
of mere curiosity, to see what was going on. From 
the platform where the missionary was sitting, he 
saw that the entrance of the giant had been noticed 
by a young convert. First the convert would look 
at the Indian until his eyes were filled with tears ; 
and then he would clasp his hands together and 
look up to heaven, as if in a perfect agony of prayer. 
Towards the close of the services the giant was 
smitten by the truth like Goliah by the pebble. On 
the invitation given by the missionary for inquirers 
to meet him near the platform, he came forward 
trembling and literally tottering with anxiety and 
distress, asking whether there was any hope for 
him ? Christ was freely oflered to him and promptly 
accepted by him, and thus once more did God de- 
clare himself the Hearer of prayer.'' 

An Importunate Suppliant. — "Forty years," said 
a mother in Israel, " was I praying for my husband, 
thirty years for my daughter, and God heard me for 
them. And ever since the people of God, at my 



60 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

request, prayed for my son, — I feel as if God would 
also hear me for him." Is not tliis one of the secrets 
of the Lord, that few consider and understand as 
they ought ? 

Sad Cases. — We read in the Gospels of a poor 
woman, who "had suffered many things of many 
physicians, and had spent all that she had, and was 
nothing bettered, but rather grew worse :" fit emblem 
and but too faithful a representative this suffering 
hody of many a still more deeply afflicted and suffer- 
ing soul ! The number of persons of this description, 
who have been brought to light, and who have known 
the healing touch of Christ's garment, during this 
present revival, has been quite large. It is not the 
least of the recent wonders of God among us, that 
prayers should be awakened and heard for them also. 
Take a single example. A lady who had been for 
many years a member of the church, but who had 
long been convinced that she had never experienced 
a change of heart, was led by the Holy Spirit to feel 
how vain a thing it was to have the " form of godli- 
ness" without the "power." She had read, ""Who- 
so covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso con- 
fesseth and forsaketh them, shall have mercy." Ac- 
cordingly she acted on this advice, and at length 
opened up her mind fully to a Christian friend. It 
pleased God at once to enlist his Christian sympathy 
on her behalf. He prayed with her, he prayed for 
her, he promised on one single condition, that he 
would stand by her in her spiritual trouble, no mat- 
ter whether it was months or years, until he saw her 
through it. The condition was this — that she should 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 61 

not deprive him of the power to help her, by leaning 
upon his prayers. — The solemn agreement was made, 
but darker and darker did the shadows gather 
around her soul, until the eclipse became total. 
"What was to be done ? "Ask still more prayer/' said 
her friend. That very night an opportunity was af- 
forded at the close of a prayer-meeting, and heavy as 
the Cross was, she resolutely took it up, and " rose 
for prayer." That prayer we trust was not in vain, 
and ere the week was over, such a peculiar combina- 
tion of the word and the providence and the Spirit 
of God occurred, that the hard heart was broken and 
the stubborn will subdued ! "We scarcely know 
whether the encouragement to prayer, appeared the 
greatest to the lady herself, to her friend, or to the 
members of the prayer-meeting, where the special 
petition had been offered on her behalf. 

The sympathy of Christians in endeavoring to 
bring sinners to Christ, has been tender and affec- 
tionate in no ordinary degree. On one occasion at 
Jayne's Hall, when those who desired the prayers of 
God's people, were requested to signify it by rising 
or by holding up their right hand, an incident oc- 
curred, the spirit of which for the moment reminded 
us of the time when Jesus of Nazareth passed by in 
the days of his flesh, and when " seeing their faith," 
{i. e. the faith of the friends of the sufierer,) he spake 
the word, and the cure was instant and complete ! 
Twice, but in vain, a lady had endeavored to lift 
up her hand. The third time, the friend beside her, 
assisted her to raise it up ; both of them being com- 
pletely overpowered by their emotion. Perhaps there 
6 



62 THE WORK OF GOB IN PHILADELPHIA. 

were not more than two or three who witnessed the 
occurrence, but by one at least, who did see it, it 
was a sight never to be forgotten. 

CONVEESIONS FEOM EREOR. 

Oe a Universalist. — " Such I was,'' said one, " by 
belief: that is, I tried tonaake myself believe in the 
doctrine of universal salvation, and thought I did 
believe it. But, after all, I did not candidly believe 
it in my heart. When I thought of the death of 
friends it would make me shudder. One Sunday I 
said to my wife, who belonged to the Society of 
Friends, ' suppose we go to church to-day ?' 

" ' Well,' said she, ' if your conscience so dictates 
let us do it.' First we went to a church in B. street, 
and after we had entered, I happened to remember 
that it had no steeple ! More out of ridicule than 
anything else, I said to my wife, ' let us go to a 
church with a steeple on it.' Notwithstanding her 
reproof I would and did go to the steeple church. 
Never was I so affected by a sermon in my life. I 
went home uneasy and troubled, and continued so 
for days, but without letting any one know it. The 
first time the minister called, I told him ' it was all 
humbug.' Some days after he called again, and 
among other remarks, made the following : ' Had 
you not a mother, and did she not teach you a 
prayer V The appeal was more than I could stand, 
and that single remark had more force in it than if he 
had talked to me all day. ^ Now,' said he, 'try and 
think what that prayer was that your mother taught 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 63 

you ;' and with these words he bade me ' good 
morning.' "Weeks and months passed on, but I 
could find no peace nor rest, until I found it in be- 
lieving in Jesus." 

Conversion of a Unitarian. — '' Among the many 
cases of conversion/' writes a friend, " in this special 
outpouring of the Holy Spirit, is one of unusual inte- 
rest; not only from the important social position 
held, but in the radical change wrought in the whole 
life and character. A lady of cultivated intellect, a 
bold thinker, impressing her opinions on all with 
whom she came in contact, became involved with 
the ensnaring fallacy of Unitarianism. In settling 
down in this belief, she was aided by one of her own 
sex, equally educated and accomplished, who con- 
firmed her in this fatal error. By mutual conference 
each strengthened the other, until at length the 
resolution was taken to join the Unitarian Church. 

" In this state of mind the claims of the Gospel 
were presented to her, but only to be most strenu- 
ously resisted. Salvation by a crucified Eedeemer, 
was indeed to her ' a stone of stumbling and a rock 
of offence.' To a friend of her's who was privileged 
to labor with her, she replied with an emphasis cha- 
racteristic of the carnal mind, which is 'enmity 
against God:' 'If I accept Jesus Christ on the 
terms which you propose, you make me a debtor to 
HIM !' Amid much discouragement, yet with a con- 
stant presentation of the 'truth as it is in Jesus,' the 
Holy Spirit, (after many months of unbelieving rejec- 
tion) was pleased to discover 'Christ crucified,' as 
the only way to God. Then came the struggle to 



6i THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

submit to the ^righteousness which is by faith in 
Christ.' "Weeks passed by in the vain hope of 
satisfying God by a righteousness of her own. 
But the text-book used during this season of trial, 
was the Word of God. 'Thus saith the Lord/ was 
the answer to all the cavils of unbelief, and all the 
reasonings of philosophy, falsely so called. At 
length, when human reason failed to unravel the 
great truths of Revelation, it was suggested by her 
friend as the conclusion of the whole matter — ' Shall 
not the Judge of all the earth do right?' and there 
he rested the subject. It pleased God to make that 
declaration of his own word the means of settling 
her perplexed and bewildered mind. She rested on 
it, and found peace in believing on Jesus. Shortly 
after, she wrote to her Unitarian friend ; and an ex- 
tract from that letter will give you, perhaps, a better 
idea of the work of the Holy Spirit on her heart 
than mere general description : — 

''For several days I have had a letter on hand to 
send you, and have written and re-written it from 
the difficulty I found in saying just what I wanted. 
Now, however, I feel that the simplest way is the best, 
and that I ought no longer to delay in confessing 
my Saviour before men. Indeed, I long to confess 
Him though it be in weakness and with much trem- 
bling. Let me confess Him to yoUj my dear friend, 
and let me ask you to listen patiently to what are 
now the dearest and deepest thoughts of my life. 
And yet, what can I say ? Jesus died for me ! One 
thing only I know, 'whereas once I was blind, now 
I see.' I see him, my Eedeemer, my Sanctifier, my 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 65 

ever present Lord and Master. Above all I see Mm 
an all-sufficient atonement for my sins, and at the 
sight the weary burden has fallen from me, and left 
me free in that liberty wherewith Christ has made 
me free. Oh ! if I could but find words to express 
to you the deep inward peace and joy which has 
been mine, at intervals, for the last few weeks, dear 

, I think it would touch your heart. I have 

honestly, I think, been praying and seeking to be 
enlightened with the true light from above, and 
gradually, almost insensibly, I have been drawn 
nearer and nearer unto Jesus of Nazareth, until at 
last, weary, sin-sick, and unworthy, as I know I am, 
I have fallen at the foot of the Cross, and have 
sought and found mercy. It is unspeakably precious 
to me to have been thus brought — and, ! I would 
not exchange this all-sufficient Saviour, and the sal- 
vation which is his free gift, (and oh ! how free !) for 
all the righteousness which years or centuries of 
perfect obedience to the law might win for me. I 
glory in the Cross of Christ ! 

" Yet I write these words in fear and trembling, 
lest through my unfaithfulness I may bring reproach 
on the cause I long to serve. May the power of our 
Lord Jesus Christ keep me faithful to himself. And 
now, my dearest friend, how my heart yearns for you ! 
How I long to see you come to this Saviour and be 
at peace. What can I say ? I feel that words are 
useless. I can only pray for you, and this, God 
granting me the ability, I will do, until you are 
brought into this sheltered fold of which Christ is 
the compassionate Shepherd. I do not feel as if I 

6* 



66 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 



could argue the subject vritli you, for thougli ' I know 
that my Eecleemer liveth,' I know also that it is not 
by argument^ but from conviction that you will em- 
brace the truth, and this no words can adequately 
express. My heart is too full to write more at pres- 
ent, yet this one thing I may say, that no motive 
for work was ever half so powerful as the thought 
that I am now working for my dear Saviour. It 
seems to me, that through Christ strengthening me 
I can do all things." 

To another friend she says, '' On the 13th of 
March, I went to the prayer-meeting at Jayne's Hall 
out of mere curiosity. I took my seat in the crowded 
room with a feeling of infinite superiority to the be- 
nighted souls around me who could find any comfort 
in such scenes of fanatical excitement. But irresis- 
tibly a different feeling stole over me. I realized that 
the Spirit of God was present there in a way never 
witnessed by me before. My own poor philosophical 
religion seemed vain and dead, in view of the whole- 
souled earnestness which I saw and felt around me. 
Here was something above and beyond my expe- 
rience, and though I had gone in to criticise and 
scoff*, I sat there in tears, with a bitter sense of the 
insufficiency of all my philosophy. For the first 
time my faith in my preconceived opinion was 
shaken. These worshippers hnew whom they be- 
lieved, I did not, and I could not be at peace." 

Personal Effort. — To a careful observer of the 
work of God in this city during the last year, there 
are two things in reference to which there will be 
little or no dispute. The first is the Union of Chris- 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 67 

tians in their spirit; '' We are all one man's sons," the 
sons of Israel. The second is the individuality of 
Christians, in all the varioas fields of Christian exer- 
tion. ''Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" The 
question of service is asked directly of the Lord ; the 
commission received from him, and not at second 
hand from some one else. My presence is wanted — 
am I there ? My prayers are called for — are they 
forthcoming? There are souls to be saved, and I 
must do my part towards saving them ; who are they, 
and where are they to be found ? 

Personal Obligation to Bring Sinners to Ee- 
pentance, we think it safe to say, has recently been 
felt in this city, to an extent that has never been 
known in it before. Doing good merely by dona- 
tion, or deputy, or proxy, has failed to satisfy the 
conscience. Each man has his own burden and his 
own cross, or he is not at work as he should be. 

The extent to which some of our young men par- 
ticularly, have been blessed in their labors, has been 
remarkable indeed. Six, eight, ten and even more 
of their companions won to Christ through their 
immediate instrumentality; such is the history of 
not a few who thus sincerely and earnestly devoted 
themselves to the work of the Lord. By conversing 
with a friend, by inviting him to church or prayer- 
meeting, by introducing him to a Christian minister, 
by giving him a book or tract — above all by making 
him the special subject of prayer in secret, simple 
as these means appear, they have been all-power- 
ful through the blessing of God to produce the de- 
sired result. 



68 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

Holy Joy. — " JSTever was I so happy in all my 
life/' said a young convert, after taking up the cross 
for Christ at a prayer-meeting. ^'I always knew what 
Jesus had done for me^ but this was the first time I 
ever really felt that I had done anything for Jesus. My 
joy at conversion was as nothing, compared with 
that which I now feel on entering into service !'' 

A Mission Pkayer Meeting. — In a short but 
thickly populated street in the upper part of the city, 
two young men were seen one afternoon, endeavor- 
ing to find some room in which to hold a prayer- 
meeting. Having passed from one end of the street 
to the other, without finding any house for this pur- 
pose, the wife of a good-natured skeptic suggested a 
wish to have such a meeting in their house. Laugh- 
ingly assenting to the proposition, the meeting was 
accordingly appointed. For four or five weeks it was 
continued without any apparent fruit, but though 
the blessing ^'tarried" it came in the end. First the 
wife was converted, then a number of others, the 
twenty-seventh being the husband. Afterwards it be- 
came necessary to have two meetings instead of one, 
and some forty conversions it is hoped, may be traced 
to that little meeting. What is to prevent the estab- 
lishment of hundreds of similar meetings all over 
the city ? And why not expect from them similar 
results ? 

The Runner's Bible Class. — During the latter 
part of the winter, a series of meetings which lasted 
some seven weeks without intermission, were held 
for the especial benefit of that class of boys known 
as the "runners" with the engines. During the pro- 



J 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 69 

gress of the meeting several professed to have expe- 
rienced a change of heart, and their subsequent con- 
duct has given good evidence of the truth of their 
profession. On the termination of the prayer meet- 
ings a Bible Class was organized to be held once a 
week, for the instruction of the young converts, and 
of any others who might wish to attend. The move- 
ment unexpectedly proved to be a very popular one. 
That a class of young men, whose ages range from 
eighteen to twenty, the regular habitues of the 
corner, those who were supposed to be almost 
beyond hope, should meet regularly on a week day 
evening for the purpose of receiving instruction from 
the "Word of God, and of engaging afterwards in 
prayer w^ith and for one another, a year ago would 
have seemed almost impossible ! But our readers 
may rest assured that the fact is even as we de- 
clare it ! 

A similar movement has been in progress among 
the ^'newsboys," showing that they, too, are acces- 
sible; as also among various other classes of ne- 
glected youth. The additions to the Sabbath- 
schools during the last year have been very large ; 
seventy-four schools, (being less than one-third of 
the v/hole number,) have reported fifteen hundred 
and forty-six conversions during the year. Various 
other movements are now in progress among the 
youth, even more interesting, some of them, than 
any we have stated ; but they are so recent in their 
origin that, for the present, it is better to refer to 
them merely in the general. When, however, the 



70 THE WORK OP GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

proper time does come to mention them, it will be 
to many equally the occasion of surprise and joy. 

The Meeting where God was. — At the com- 
mencement of this revival, some fifteen young men, 
members of respectable and well-known families in 
Philadelphia, were banded together as a sort of 
club. Like hundreds and perhaps thousands of 
similar circles in the city, they were in the habit of 
meeting every afternoon and evening in various 
drinking saloons, and sometimes in their own 
homes, to play cards, to drink wine, and spend 
their nights in revelry. Thus were they all in the 
broad road to ruin, when it pleased God to arrest 
one of their number by his Spirit, and lead him to 
a place of worship. Little did he think on return- 
ing home at two o'clock the night before, that the 
next afternoon he would be in the house of God. 
But the same mighty leaven was beginning to work 
in his heart that had already found its way into the 
hearts of so many others ! Lingering at the close 
of the service, and attracting the notice of the 
minister by his ill-concealed agitation, a conversa- 
tion ensued between them as to the worth of the 
soul, and how far he himself was interested in this 
matter personally. All his impressions thus greatly 
deepened, he determined to abandon the club, and 
throw himself in the way of other and better influ- 
ences. The following week he met with one of his 
old companions, with whom he had been the most 
intimate, who rallied him on the change that had 
come over him, and proposed a visit to the circus. 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 71 

Admitting the reality of the change, he endeavored 
to persuade his companion that his new life was a 
better one for him than his old one, and induce him 
to adopt a similar one for himself. Once and again 
they passed the door of the circus during their 
walk, but their conversation becoming more and 
more absorbing, the friend, now also awakened, re- 
turned with him to his house. It was not long be- 
fore both friends were rejoicing in Him who loves 
to be called the ''Friend of sinners." 

The conversion of these two young men was not 
without its effect upon the rest of their companions, 
and for a time the operations of the club were com- 
pletely suspended. Hearing, after some weeks, 
that it was about to be revived, it was agreed be- 
tween the two to anticipate the movement by a 
prayer meeting. Such a meeting was accordingly 
appointed at the house of one of the converts, to 
which he invited not only all his old associates of 
the club, but some of his new-found friends in the 
Christian Association. The scene was certainly a 
most extraordinary one : those who, in that same 
house, had gathered around the card table, to drink 
the intoxicating cup, to sing the bacchanalian song, 
and indulge freely in the language of profanity, 
now met to worship God in praise and prayer! 
From this time forward nothing more was heard ol 
reviving the club. The prayer meeting took its 
place ; the Bible was substituted for the decanter ; 
and the hymn-book for the pack of cards. Each 
successive meeting seemed to increase in interest, 
until at length, in the early part of the summer, 



72 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA, 

one meeting in particular was held wliicli will be 
long remembered, by those who were present, as 
''the meeting where God was." The room was 
closely filled with about fifty young men, and it was 
evident, from the very commencement of the meet- 
ing, that God was in the midst of them. As soon 
as the meeting was thrown open, one young man 
arose and asked them to pray for him, as he had 
just determined by the help of God to be a Chris- 
tian. First one prayer was ofiered for him, and then 
another, all remaining on their knees, and pleading 
fervently with God, not only for this friend but for 
every other there that was seeking Jesus. At the 
close of this prayer, a third commenced praying. 
He prayed that God would lead the Christians then 
present to pray for him. He prayed in the broken 
accents of a foreigner — as one ''who had no friend" 
— who had " left a dear mother far over the waves" 
— who was a stranger in a strange land, and who 
wanted "to have Jesus to be his friend," who 
was the "friend and Saviour of his mother in 
Europe." Tears were seen streaming from every 
eye, and a fourth brother took up the burden, and 
prayed, while they were still kneeling, for him who 
had last prayed, as "no longer a stranger but a bro- 
ther!" The company then all arose from their 
knees weeping, and for some time not a man could 
summon the courage or collect himself sufliciently 
to say a single word. The leader, in a subdued and 
almost inaudible voice, gave out the hymn, 

''Alas ! and did mj Saviour bleed f 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 73 

and sweetly did the ineltiDg hearts of the singers 
flow out in the channel of its harmonies. The 
hymn over, fervent and afiectionate were the ap- 
peals that came from the lips of those who tried to 
address the meeting; and soon another rose, say- 
ing, ^'Pray for me, brothers: I, too, will be for 
Christ." Another arose with a similar request. At 
the close of the meeting, three more announced 
their resolution to come out on the Lord's side. 
The next afternoon, at the ^'Diligent" prayer meet- 
ing, another young man rose and said, that at the 
meeting in Spruce street last evening, he, too, had 
found the Saviour. The blessedness of that meet- 
ing will never be efiaced from the memories of those 
who enjoyed the precious privilege of being there — 
** where God was." Eight young men coming out 
from the world comprised nearly every unconverted 
man in the room ; and the conversation with the re- 
joicing penitents after the meeting was over was, if 
any thing, even more delightful than the meeting 
itself. 

From that night the meeting was made a perma- 
nent one. From week to week the hymn-books, 
camp-stools, etc., are carried round to the parlors of 
different private residences. Up to December 1st 
twenty-three meetings had been held, always largely 
attended, some of them numbering over a hundred 
young men ; and, from a careful estimate, there is 
every reason to believe that through their instru- 
mentality at least twenty souls have been ''born 
again," and led to rejoice in God their Saviour! 
Why should not every town and village see a simi- 
7 



74 THE WORK OF GOB IN PHILADELPHIA. 

lar prayer-meeting? And why should not many 
more sucli clubs in our city experience a similar 
transformation? "WTio doubts that it would be 
better for the young men themselves, for their pa- 
rents, for their mves and children, and for the real 
welfare of the entire community? 

One witness more, and we close the record. As 
if to leave no possible doubt on any candid mind as 
to the fact that this was the work of God, and not 
of man, it has pleased God to send his Holy Spirit 
into the solitary cells of the prison. The letter of the 
" Moral Instructor" needs no comment. The theory 
of "sympathy," to whatever extent it may apply 
elsewhere, has certainly nothing to recommend it 
here. 

** Philadelphia, Oct. 30, 1858. 

"Dear, Sir: — Agreeably to your request, I send 
to you the following brief statement of the religious 
influence which has for some months past pervaded 
the Eastern Penitentiary. 

" I may premise, that during the past three years 
there has been very little, if any, genuine feeling 
regarding the interests of the soul and eternity. I 
have endeavored to present the truths of the gospel 
to the minds of the prisoners, but with a desponding 
spirit, having little hope that any would be led to 
seek deliverance from the wrath to come. During 
the early part of the remarkable movement which 
has awakened public attention in our own and other 
cities, and over all our land, I was led from pruden- 
tial considerations to withhold from the inmates, in 



THE WOKK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 75 

my Sabbath ministrations^ any statement of wliat 
was transpiring without, lest the mere influence of 
human sympathies should awaken a corresponding 
excitement within the prison, which might pass 
away like the early cloud or the morning dew. 

'' Some time toward the latter end of March last, 
the prisoner who aided me in the distribution of the 
books which are issued weekly from the library, 
(mlled my attention to a fact which had arrested his 
attention; that there was an unusual demand for 
religious books, a kind rarely called for previousl3^ 
This was not immediately attended to, owing to the 
exhausting and hurried labors of that day. But 
subsequently he directed my attention to this matter 
more impressively, adding, 'Had you not better 
attend to it?' I replied, 'Yes; let me know who 
they are who take such books.' I was somewhat 
aroused by the interest with which he regarded this 
apparent concern on the part of other prisoners, sus- 
pecting that he too Vv^as not wholly indifferent to the 
momentous question, 'What must I do to be saved?' 
I conversed with him seriously in relation to it, and 
urged him to a careful examination of the fifty-third 
chapter of the Prophecy of Isaiah. Soon after this, 
a deep anxiety was manifested by him,* which I 
trust has resulted in his conversion. I have never 
known an instance of professed conversion more 
satisfactory. 

" On one occasion, attending a prayer meeting at 



'^ It raaj be proper to state that tho individual here referred to 
was a verj intelligent Jew, whose term of service had nearly expired. 



76 



THE T70RK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 



Jayne's Hall, prayer was requested in behalf of a 
young man recently consigned to the Eastern Peni- 
tentiary, of whom it was announced soon after that 
prayer had been answered, and that he was con- 
verted. These events occurring without any direct 
eflbrts of an exciting kind within the prison, induced 
the adoption of means to ascertain to what extent 
this influence prevailed. On the following Sabbath, 
after the sermon, I expressed a hope that the Spirit 
of God was operating on the hearts of some of the 
inmates, and requested that as many as wished to 
have personal conversation on the subject of reli- 
gion, would signify it by quietly dropping a piece of 
paper, containing their designating number, outside 
of the doors of their cells. 

" This was responded to by twelve or thirteen in 
the corridor where I then preached. The same plan 
was adopted by visiting brethren who preached on 
successive Sabbaths in other parts of the house, un- 
til the number who were desirous of religious con- 
verse and prayer exceeded fifty persons. In a short 
time some ten or twelve professed to have found 
peace in believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. Others 
continue to exhibit evidences of sincere desire for 
salvation, while some have apparently relapsed into 
a state of indifierence. Some five or six who gave 
evidence of a saving change, having served out their 
time in prison, have been discharged — all of them, I 
believe, having continued to act consistently with 
their professions up to that period. One young man 
died not long since, expressing a steadfast hope of 
salvation through the atoning merits of Jesus. The 



THE WORK OF GOD IK PHILADELPHIA. 77 

present aspect of the prison is less interesting; few, 
if any, new instances of conviction have been no- 
ticed. Owing to the pressure of multiplied duties, 
my opportunities of becoming acquainted with such 
cases are quite limited. 

"In visiting and inquiring among those who were 
the subjects of this awakening, I was struck with 
the singular coincidence of their attention being 
called up to the subject of religion at about the 
same time; two or three in the month of January, 
and nearly all the rest in and through the month of 
February, at which time there was repeated and 
earnest prayer offered for prisoners, at the meeting 
in Jayne's Hall. 

"That this Divine influence visiting this prison at 
that period, was in answer to those prayers, I cannot 
doubt; and I would greatly rejoice if, in the noon- 
day and other prayer meetings, the prisoners could 
share in the fervent, effectual offerings presented at 
the throne of grace. "Will you please make this re- 
quest on our behalf, and oblige 

"Yours affectionately, 

"T. L., Moral Instructor:' 

In view of these and a multitude of similar facts, 
of which these stand only as the imperfect repre- 
sentatives, v^e feel bound in all honor and conscience, 
both as men and as Christians, to express to our 
city, our commonwealth, our country, and the world 
at large, our most solemn and undoubting belief, 
that this last year in the religious history of Phila- 
delphia has been "a year of the right hand of the 

7"* 



78 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 

Most High," and that many of its days have been 
days of Pentecost indeed. The great question is, 
^^What hath God wrought?'' and not ''What has 
been done by man?'' Almost as by a voice from the 
excellent glory we seem to hear the emphatic decla- 
ration, '-Not by might, nor by power, but by my 
Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." ''They shall come, 
and shall declare his righteousness unto a people 
that shall be born, that He hath done this." The 
human instrumentality in this matter is as nothing com- 
pared with the Divine agency. 

Individual Christians, lay or clerical ; individual 
churches, whether belonging to this denomination 
or the other; denominations themselves, whether 
larger or smaller, all as with one accord, with no 
anxiety to challenge relative superiority, no jealousy 
to adjust rival or peculiar claims, humble, grateful, 
and rejoicing, meet here as in the great congrega- 
tion, in the one glorious ascription of praise — "Not 
unto us, Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name 
give glory, for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake." 
As it was 'Hhe pouring forth anew of that life which 
Christ brought into the worlds' that w^ll alone account 
for the Reformation ; so a new instalment of the 
Divine life is the only theory on which we can satis- 
factorily account for this "Great Awakening." "We 
assume that it is of God until there are those who 
are bold enough, and subtile enough, *to prove it 
otherwise. Occasional indiscretions on the part of 
any who have been the subjects of His work, or 
the humble agents in carrying it forward, have as 
little to do with the real character of the work as 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 79 

the bubble on the surface has to do in determining 
the character of the stream. In the wise and care- 
fully chosen language of another, "Let us carefully 
distinguish between what we are to set down to the 
dishonor of man, and what we are to be thankful 
for to the praise of God. As, in a single instance 
of the power of his converting grace, we are not the 
less persuaded of the genuineness of the work be- 
cause the old nature, though subdued, still appears : 
so let us judge of a more general work!" Thus far, 
as compared with the purest revivals of the past, the 
absence of extravagance of any kind is extraordi- 
nary to a perfect marvel-. Never in their social de- 
votions were the people of God in the enjoyment of 
wider or more unrestricted liberty, and never was 
this liberty less perverted. "During the last week,'' 
(the last week in June,) said a brother, "I have at- 
tended no less than five-and-twenty different prayer 
meetings. Going there calmly and deliberately, for 
the express purpose of carefully observing their spi- 
ritual character, and of studying out as far as possi- 
ble the philosophy of such unwonted gatherings ol 
the people of God, looking at them in every possible 
light of which I am capable, the candid and una- 
voidable conclusion to which I have come is this : 
They are of God V The testimony at the great 
Anniversary Meeting at Jayne's Hall, Nov. 23d, 
1858, was cordially and unanimously the same : 
" This is the Lord's doing : it is marvellous in 
OUR eyes !" 

The many and various lessons from these facts, 
as to the nature of prayer; the duty of intercession ; 



80 THE WORK OF GOB IN PHILADELPHIA. 

the N"ooN Prayer MsETiNaj the expediency not onlj^ 
of a Sabbath clay in every week, but of a Sabbath 
hour in every day ; the value of Christian Union ; 
the importance of personal, individual effort for the 
conversion of souls; the newly opened field of 
^' Union Missions," in which it has not only been 
demonstrated that Christians can pray and work to- 
gether, but that it is for their oivn mutual benefit 
and the advantage of the eommon cause thus to do; 
the true principles of reformation and of city evan- 
gelization ; the development of latent power in the 
church ; the guilt of those who have opposed this 
work; or who have been indifferent to it; or who 
have been mere absorbents of it by a luxurious spi- 
ritual sympathy, giving neither of their means nor 
energies to carry it forward — these are fruitful and 
suggestive topics that we leave to each of our read- 
ers to carry out at their leisure. God hath indeed 
^'done great things for us, whereof we are glad;" 
but whether, after having thus been brought within 
sight of the promised land, and been made to tast^ 
of the rich clusters of Eshcol, we shall go up at once 
and possess the land, or w^hether we shall turn back 
again into the wilderness, leaving it to another and 
a better generation to complete the conquest which 
has been so auspiciously commenced, ''the day will 
declare it." 

Prayerless, Christless soul, whether in the Church 
or out of it — you who have thus far lived through 
this revival, like an ''island of ice in a sea of fire," 
— who have been like "the heath in the desert, that 
knoweth not when good cometh" — especially are 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 81 

these pages designed for you. "We cannot but 
speak the things which we have seen and heard ;" 
and, as though our souls were in your souls' stead, 
are we anxious that you should receive our testi- 
mony. " To-day, the Holy Ghost saith, if ye will 
hear his voice, harden not your hearts.'' "Not to 
hear that voice is to harden your hearts. As in the 
time of 'Whitefield,in many places where he preached 
those who remained unconverted until the close of 
that great revival remained so until their death, so 
may it be with you. Since the commencement of 
this work, warnings have multiplied around us on 
every hand. Are you an unbeliever in the gospel ? 
We could tell you of three friends, who, around 
their cups, agreed that the first of them to die 
should give the others the benefit of his experience. 
Very soon the opportunity was afibrded. The testi- 
mony was given, and as the afirighted friend carried 
the news to his companion, his first exclamation 
was, ''We had better believe it all! Neither you nor 
I would want to die as he is dying!" Are you a 
Sabbath breaker ? We can tell of one who broke 
away with curses from his father and mother on the 
morning of a Sabbath day to go sailing, and by the 
time the sun was down was brought home a corpse. 
Are you postponing the claims of the gospel to a 
more convenient season? So was one who was 
hurried ofi* by a violent and unexpected disease ; no 
time on that death-bed for any preparation. Have 
you even fixed the period when you will come to 
the Lord Jesus Christ, and believe in him to the 
saving of your soul ? So did another young man : 



82 THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA, 

" Ai}^ next birth-day will soon come round, and then 
I will give my heart to Christ.'' These were his 
words on a Sabbath morning as he was leaving the 
church after a very solemn sermon. On Tuesday, 
while exhibiting his strength in lifting a heavy box, 
he burst a blood-vessel, proving almost immediately 
fatal. His birth-day came, but where was he ? Are 
you resisting the Holy Spirit, refusing to yield at 
once to those convictions of guilt and danger that 
would bring you to the foot of the Cross for pardon 
and eternal life ? It may be with you as with ano- 
ther, v/ho hesitated too long before resolving to be 
on the Lord's side. About to enter Jayne's hall, 
and meeting an ungodly companion, he allowed 
himself to be drawn another way. An infidel book 
was placed in his hand ; he read it, and all at once 
it became as dark within as the smoke of the pit 
could make it ! In a single moment he was given 
over to blindness of mind and hardness of heart. 
Belief in God's word, conviction of sin, every pur- 
pose of good, all vanished ; he was made to know 
by a fearful experience that to quench the Holy 
Spirit was to leave the soul in utter, and, for aught 
that appears to the contrary thus far, in eternal 
darkness. Wait not for deeper convictions. The 
question is, " Are you really convinced ? not how 
deeply are you convinced of sin ?" 

" ' The door was shut' — that was the text," said 
a young convert, '' that went to my heart, and awak- 
ened me as to my danger." "Isaiah xii.," said 
another — " that was the chapter that brought me 
consolation." "My verse," said another, "was John 



THE WORK OF GOD IN PHILADELPHIA. 83 

vi. 37, ' Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise 
cast out.' '' 

May God, in infinite mercy, grant to every reader 
of tliis tract that lie, too, may learn the great lesson 
that MAN is a sinner, that Christ is a Saviour, and 

ACT accordingly. 



THE END, 



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